Palladium versus the Broadcast Flag

[Note - this is an archived version of the original posting from 02:00 AM EDT, Oct 21 2003]

[This is a slightly edited version of a message posted to the cypherpunks list today. It is in response to reports that the FCC will soon be imposing a mandate for enforcing a Broadcast Flag to limit copying of HDTV programs, and comparisons with Trusted Computing technologies such as Microsoft's Palladium (aka NGSCB).]

There are fundamental differences between Palladium and the Broadcast Flag.

Palladium works in an inherently voluntary way. There is no benefit to the content providers in mandating Palladium! Rather, they simply make their content available only to end users who own Palladium systems and run approved software. Once Palladium is built into the standard and widely used Windows operating system, the Longhorn system projected for release in 2005, there will be a huge market of people who have the requisite hardware.

At that point it will be no different for the end user from the situation today with Apple's iTunes music store making its software only available to people who run the iTunes software. Apple is claiming one million downloads of its software in only a few days. All this is completely voluntary, and the same will be true of software based on Palladium.

The Broadcast Flag is another matter entirely. The distributors of that content are not limiting it only to people who have voluntarily agreed to honor the restrictions. Rather, they provide it to everyone, transmitting their radio waves through walls and rooms whether anyone wants it or not. This means that people get the content who have not agreed to the restrictions, and no voluntary protection scheme can work.

Therefore the content industry is getting the government to use its coercive power to force everyone to obey the limitations specified by the BF. Basically, we are being forced to honor the BF at the point of a gun.

Therefore, the BF is fundamentally evil, and Palladium is fundamentally good. The BF can only work via coercion and the threat of force, while Palladium can work in a voluntary, cooperative and peaceful society. The only proper response for someone who is against coercion is to oppose the BF, and to support Palladium.