Digital imprimatur
Encyclopedia
The Digital Imprimatur is an article written in 2003 by John Walker
, and hence "digital imprimatur" is a term widely associated with him. In the Roman Catholic Church
, an imprimatur
is a censor's official declaration that a work is free from doctrinal or moral error, but Walker uses the term "digital imprimatur" to describe a system of internet censorship
.
John Walker argues in his article The Digital Imprimatur: How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle, that there is increasingly a crackdown on the ability for internet users to voice their ideas, as well as an upcoming official state of internet censorship on the horizon. Walker claims that the most likely candidate to usher in the digital imprimatur is digital rights management
, or DRM.
Similar scenarios have been predicted by others, including Richard Stallman
, in his article and essay The Right to Read
.
Other people predict the establishment of a dynamic equilibrium
between repressive official and commercial and more free but in some cases illegal technologies, resulting in the emergence of darknet
s and anonymous P2P
systems, together with alternative networking systems (including but not limited to sneakernet
s and both fixed and ad-hoc wireless mesh network
s), and vivid underground culture
and black market centered on them, in accordance with the iron law of prohibition
.
Walkers' prediction of micropayment systems being used on newspaper websites to supplement their income has been suggested by Google
as noted here by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism
.
John Walker (programmer)
John Walker is a computer programmer and a co-founder of the computer-aided design software company Autodesk, and a co-author of early versions of AutoCAD, a product Autodesk originally acquired from programmer Michael Riddle...
, and hence "digital imprimatur" is a term widely associated with him. In the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, an imprimatur
Imprimatur
An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...
is a censor's official declaration that a work is free from doctrinal or moral error, but Walker uses the term "digital imprimatur" to describe a system of internet censorship
Internet censorship
Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...
.
John Walker argues in his article The Digital Imprimatur: How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle, that there is increasingly a crackdown on the ability for internet users to voice their ideas, as well as an upcoming official state of internet censorship on the horizon. Walker claims that the most likely candidate to usher in the digital imprimatur is digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
, or DRM.
Similar scenarios have been predicted by others, including Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
, in his article and essay The Right to Read
The Right to Read
"The Right to Read" is a short story by Richard Stallman, the founder of the Free Software Foundation, which was first published in 1997 in Communications of the ACM...
.
Other people predict the establishment of a dynamic equilibrium
Dynamic equilibrium
A dynamic equilibrium exists once a reversible reaction ceases to change its ratio of reactants/products, but substances move between the chemicals at an equal rate, meaning there is no net change. It is a particular example of a system in a steady state...
between repressive official and commercial and more free but in some cases illegal technologies, resulting in the emergence of darknet
Darknet
The term darknet refers to any private, distributed P2P filesharing network, where connections are made only between trusted peers using non-standard protocols and ports...
s and anonymous P2P
Anonymous P2P
An anonymous P2P communication system is a peer-to-peer distributed application in which the nodes or participants are anonymous or pseudonymous...
systems, together with alternative networking systems (including but not limited to sneakernet
Sneakernet
Sneakernet is an informal term describing the transfer of electronic information, especially computer files, by physically couriering removable media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives, or external hard drives from one computer to another. This is usually in lieu...
s and both fixed and ad-hoc wireless mesh network
Wireless mesh network
A wireless mesh network is a communications network made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology. Wireless mesh networks often consist of mesh clients, mesh routers and gateways.The mesh clients are often laptops, cell phones and other wireless devices while the mesh routers forward traffic...
s), and vivid underground culture
Underground economy
A black market or underground economy is a market in goods or services which operates outside the formal one supported by established state power. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and...
and black market centered on them, in accordance with the iron law of prohibition
Iron law of prohibition
The iron law of prohibition is a term coined by Richard Cowan which states that "the more intense the law enforcement, the more potent the prohibited substance becomes." This is based on the premise that when drugs or alcohol are prohibited, they will be produced only in black markets in their most...
.
Walkers' prediction of micropayment systems being used on newspaper websites to supplement their income has been suggested by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
as noted here by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in 1938 as the result of a $1 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of The Milwaukee Journal...
.
See also
- Digital rights managementDigital rights managementDigital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
- ImprimaturImprimaturAn imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...
- Lockout chip
- Trusted computingTrusted ComputingTrusted Computing is a technology developed and promoted by the Trusted Computing Group. The term is taken from the field of trusted systems and has a specialized meaning. With Trusted Computing, the computer will consistently behave in expected ways, and those behaviors will be enforced by...
- Amazon Kindle remote content deletion controversy