Quote:
Originally Posted by ratinox
Okay, this is a valid use case. But is it a compelling case? I don't have an objective answer to the question.
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Replying to myself here having had some time to consider various implications. The problem isn't that DRM-stripped ebooks have PI in them. It's that the
original files have PI in them
and the devices' storage are not encrypted at rest. If a computing device's storage has PI on it then the whole thing should be encrypted. This is a compelling case for the ebook makers to get their acts together.
But is it a compelling reason to strip PI from the ebooks you bought?
Definitely.
Maybe.
On the one hand, embedding some form of identifier that links an ebook to a purchaser is a viable anti-piracy mechanism. The ebook itself does not need to be DRM-encumbered for this to be viable. For example: PDFs from Drive Thru RPG are marked with the purchaser's name and order number but are otherwise unencumbered and can be viewed with pretty much any PDF reader on pretty much any device.
On the other hand, if a device can't or won't be secured sufficiently to protect any PI on it then that PI should be removed and in fact should never be on the device in the first place independent of any DRM.