[fsfc-discuss] C-11

[David C Dawson]

Hi Russell,Darcy;
Re your recent comments on the fsfc-discuss list:

I sent the following [hastily cobbled together] email to Elizabeth May,
hoping it would assist her efforts to put forward credible amendments
to bill C-11's TPM provisions, but as yet have not received any feedback:
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Dear Ms May,
I support your efforts to deal with the so-called 'Digital Locks'
provisions in Bill C-11.

However, I would a you to use the term 'Digital Snares'.

I liken the TPM provision to snares, instead of locks, because the
operation of a snare is closer to the concept of TPM, than the operation
of a lock is.

An (actual) snare is a length of wire, formed into a loop of just the right
size for the animal you want to catch, attached to a rope with a supple tree
bent and held by a small toggle.

The animal runs unaware into the noose, and if the hunter did the set-up
corrrectly, is quickly strangled, and the hunter will have a meal.

Snares, must be correct for the quarry. A mouse snare will not catch a bear,
wolf, hyena, elephant, etc.


Unfortunately, a snare (physical or digital), has no way to know that the
action it took was what you intended. For example, the Sony company, not
*that* long ago decided that it was a *good idea* to put a TPM on
some of its physical media disks. The fall-out was, unforseen, and
eventually resulted in a class-action lawsuit.

Imagine instead, that a control system to a nuclear reactor had malfunctioned
and had lead to a melt-down because the new alert system's manual (on a
TPM-'protected' document had unforseen results.

To summarize:
A TPM provision is *certain* to cause far more damage that it allegedly will
prevent. It has been decades since it was possible for one individual to
understand everything about a computer system. To believe that this
concept is useful is delusional at best, and willfully ignorant at worst.

I urge you to pursue the course of action you are on.

Thank you.

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certainly, my metaphor is flawed, but then, so is the whole TPM
concept. Please, if the 'snare' metaphor is useful, I would
like some feedback. Thanks
-- 
David Dawson VE7HP VE7HDC
IRC: (Freenode) VE7HP