What if users could only use certain approved devices to access video, instead of the current range of options? What if instead of having appliances that talk to one another, or content that allows for choice of platforms to play on, users were locked into brand-specific devices?

One key characteristic of the open web, and the internet more generally, is that it is interoperable with an enormous ecosystem of standards-compliant hardware.

Yet the success of “walled-garden” ecosystems like Apple’s iPhone/iTunes platform or Microsoft’s Zune/XBox marketplace portends a future where devices are irrevocably tied to services. This problem is enhanced by access controls like Digital Rights Management (DRM) that restrict access and privileges to digital information, and laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that make DRM circumvention a federal crime.

“Trusted computing” measures in development over the past few years are attempts to solve security problems through hardware changes to the personal computer, to be released in future generations of products. However, these initiatives accept security at the expense of user freedom, competition, and interoperability. Historically, computer owners themselves, rather than the companies that provide software and data for use on the computer, have retained control over the security measures installed on their computers. This would mark a significant change that threatens user privacy and suppresses competition as a result of customer lock-in.

Device freedom is important for user control, interoperability, and innovation. The web requires an architecture that encourages user freedom and a competitive, robust marketplace.

Image by jblndl

More info:
Public Knowledge
EFF on Trusted Computing
Jonathan Zittrain on The Future of the Internet
DoubleTwist
Hulu abandons Boxee
Transparent Telematics

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