Digital Restrictions Management

Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) is a term that covers any technology included in an electronic device that deliberately limits its possible uses as a way to enforce bourgeois intellectual property and guarantee the accumulation of commodity capital. This technology takes the form of software and hardware restrictions, and impedes a range of actions such as the replication and transfer of digital files, modification of hardware or reverse-engineering. DRM means both software and hardware is often built to be unusable after a few years, as the systems that are used to authenticate "ownership" of restricted products rely on online servers that are eventually shut down. Laws in many countries criminalize sharing knowledge about circumventing DRM, creating tools to circumvent it or producing technical reports on how DRM functions.

Overall, DRM can be understood as a tool used by capitalists to protect their interests and maintain their power in the digital economy. It serves to restrict access to and use of digital content, extract surplus value from the labor of creators, and reinforce the power of capitalists through surveillance.

Function in Capitalism

Per type of DRM

Software DRM

Computer programs, due to their natural ease of replicability, are extremely cheap commodities to reproduce, the programmer which works on the software affects the use-value of units of the commodity, but not so much their labour-value. For capitalists to profit upon software, they must secure commodity capital instead of merely replicating and selling the commodity. Thus, they profit from having the exclusive right to reproduce the commodity, which is legally enforced in bourgeois states via the regime of intellectual property.

Hardware DRM

Hardware DRM is a type of DRM that is implemented using hardware devices. The most common form of hardware DRM is the use of physical components in a circuit that can transmit encryption keys to allow only software authorized by the capitalist to be ran on the device. Hardware DRM can also be used as a form of planned obsolescence, by impeding devices from receiving "uncertified" updates or tying usage of the device to an external server, companies can effectively force consumers to continue purchasing new technology after the official support period ends, even if their old ones still function and can receive effective security updates. This allows companies to extract more value from consumers over the lifetime of the product, as they will have to purchase multiple versions of the same product.

In Different Industries

In the Music Industry

The earliest forms of DRM date back to the 1980s, when digital audio tapes (DAT) were introduced. These tapes used a proprietary copy-protection scheme to prevent unauthorized copying of the recordings. However, this scheme was quickly bypassed by consumers, leading to the widespread piracy of digital music. In the 1990s, the rise of the internet and digital media led to the development of more advanced DRM technologies, such as encryption and digital watermarking. A development that particularly influenced this was the high rate at which Compact Discs (CDs), the first widespread format for distribution of digital music, were copied after the development of affordable CD recorders. In the 2000s, DRM became more prevalent with the rise of digital media platforms, such as iTunes and Netflix, which used DRM to control access to and use of their content. This led to the development of more sophisticated DRM technologies, such as hardware DRM and online licensing systems.

In Broadcasting

One of the earliest forms of DRM in the broadcasting industry was the use of encryption to restrict access to satellite and cable television signals. This allowed broadcasters to control access to their content by encrypting the signal and only allowing authorized users to decrypt and view it via the use of special hardware connected to antennas.