The MPAA Will Let Amazon Touch Its Stuff, But Only If It Agrees To A Ton Of Stipulations

from the rules-on-top-of-rules-on-top-of-futile-efforts dept

Mon, Aug 31st 2015 11:40am — Tim Cushing

TorrentFreak's Andy reports that Amazon recently published the MPAA-required "best practices" for handling physical goods as well as content stored or hosted by its cloud services. This doesn't just cover the obvious storage of movies for streaming services, but also works-in-progress by studios utilizing Amazon's web services.

It's comprehensive and loaded with restrictions and stipulations.

[I]n addition to carrying out background screening on all employees and third party contractors, the MPAA demands that all workers sign annual confidentiality agreements that forbid them from talking about protected content.

With an eye on local law, companies must also implement random searches of their workers for traces of MPAA content, including the removal of coats, hats and belts, the emptying of pockets, a full security pat-down, scanning with metal detectors and inspection of electronic devices.

Other obvious demands are included, all aimed at preventing the leak or physical theft of studio goods: no portable devices with storage capabilities, no baggy clothes, and employees' meals must be brought to work in transparent bags.

Interestingly, the MPAA's 2015 agreement with Amazon actually scales back some of its requirements. Demands that Amazon create an MPAA-specific security team and allow reps monthly access to inspect restricted areas are no longer in force. Other stipulations focused on the specific parameters of on-site, physical security have been loosened or removed completely, as well as specifications for CCTV footage storage, access and retention. The requirement that all involved third parties be CTPAT-certified (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) has also been dropped, suggesting the MPAA is about done humoring the DHS's paranoiac assertions that everything has a potential terrorism nexus.

But the adjustments made between the 2013 and 2015 edition of the MPAA's "rules" don't reflect a change in the MPAA's Ft. Knox mindset. Instead, it shows the MPAA shifting its priorities from physical protection to digital protection. The high-profile hacking of Sony likely contributed to new stipulations like these:

2015 MPAA added the requirements to perform quarterly vuln scans of external IP ranges, secure any point to point connections by using dedicated, private connections and by using encryption. Additionally the requirement to implement baseline security requirements for WAN network infrastructure devices and services.

2015 MPAA added controls around the encryption of content at rest and in motion. Additionally, procedures around the storage of public and private keys.

Also new to this ruleset is a whole section dedicated to "mobile security" that addresses the potential security holes created by a BYOD environment.

The documents show the MPAA can be forward-thinking when it comes to the distribution of content -- especially when trying to figure out how to stop it.

AWS Alignment With Motion Picture of America Association (PDF)AWS Alignment With Motion Picture of America Association (Text)

AWS MPAA 2015 New Delta (PDF)AWS MPAA 2015 New Delta (Text)

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: anti-piracy, copyright, overreaction, piracy, stipulations
Companies: amazon, mpaa

60 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Violynne (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 11:45am

I remember a day when retailers, not distributors, had the power to call the shots.

Not sure when the balance of power changed hands, but retailers, as well as online venues, need to stand up against this crap.

Let the (representing) MPAA try selling its good without the retailers and see how far it takes them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 11:54am
  
  Re:
  They'll just write a law that requires retailers carry their movies and pass it off to one of their paid-for politicians to present as their own.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 11:53am

I have Amazon Prime (so good if you order a lot of stuff to be shipped). I don't watch movies on Amazon because of their restrictions.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to Netflix to watch some hassle-free movies!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 11:58am

But Amazon, the most invasive suspicious draconian corporation I've yet heard of, surpassing even Apple, LOVES this!
You seem to assume was forced on Amazon, the company that forces employees spend up to an hour of unpaid time every day waiting to be searched. Amazon treats them like convicted criminals, yet they're under such economic stress that they can't organize and fight it. So I'm sure Amazon is in league with MPAA and LOVES this.

Like Wal-Mart, Amazon is good from your (current) "consumer" view by being hellish for low-level employees -- those in the offices have it great compared to the working stiffs.

This is just a hint of what the globalists plan for you too. You're all within sight of being the serfs in neo-feudalism.

Tired of Techdirt wasting your time from slow page loads of javascripts and images, and of not seeing comments the fanboys have censored?

Use the mobile version, Techdirt Lite!
https://www.techdirt.com/?_format=lite
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:04pm
  
  Re: But Amazon, the most invasive suspicious draconian corporation I've yet heard of, surpassing even Apple, LOVES this!
  I think it would be trivial for someone to write a bot that emulates your specific brand of useless rambling.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- DannyB (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:23pm
  
  Re: But Amazon, the most invasive suspicious draconian corporation I've yet heard of, surpassing even Apple, LOVES this!
  Free clue for the clue challenged.
  
  Censorship is when a point of view is being suppressed. Having one is a prerequisite in order for it to be censored.
  
  Ignorance, Lies, Name Calling, and Trolling do NOT qualify as a 'point of view'.
  
  Please do not try to elevate it to such.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
  
  Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:43pm
  
  Re: But Amazon, the most invasive suspicious draconian corporation I've yet heard of, surpassing even Apple, LOVES this!
  and of not seeing comments the fanboys have censored?
  
  Go fuck yourself and die. That's the kindest, gentlest way I can put it.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:58pm
  
  Re: But Amazon, the most invasive suspicious draconian corporation I've yet heard of, surpassing even Apple, LOVES this!
  For all that MParentla Advisory paraphenalia.
  
  That's fucking nuts.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
  
  ottermaton (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 3:59pm
  
  Re: Feeding the troll is pointless.
  And you're doing just what he wants.
  
  Report him and everyone who replies to him
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 9:12pm
    
    Re: Re: Feeding the troll is pointless.
    Report him and everyone who replies to him
    Good idea. Of course, you do realise I now have to report myself, right?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - ottermaton (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 5:16am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Feeding the troll is pointless.
      Good idea. Of course, you do realise I now have to report myself, right?
      
      Yep. That's what I do!
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Sheogorath (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 1:22pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Feeding the troll is pointless.
        I was actually referring to the fact that I replied to you, but trust a troll to completely miss the point. (-_Q)
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        ottermaton (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 6:39pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Feeding the troll is pointless.
        ... but trust a troll to completely miss the point.
        
        Yea, about that ... that would only make sense if I was referring to myself in the 3rd person. Which I clearly wasn't.
        
        So, really, you're just not very bright. ;-)
        
        Go back to what you're good at: feeding the troll. (By the way, all those people who can't think for themselves that you have to "save" from the trolls "ideas", they thank you for "protecting" them with your "superior intellect." Not.)
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:02pm

Baggy clothes, patdowns, etc.
Have they never heard of micro SD?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
DannyB (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:13pm

Listen up other industries!
This is how you do security.

Hey, Nuclear Power? Nuclear Weapons Research? Three Letter Agencies? Are you paying attention?

If any of you think that the secrecy and security of your goodies approaches that of the MPAA, then you should be paying attention to best practices.

Coming soon!
* Harassing and Searching of everyone your employees meet! (including dating)
* Randomly performed surgical inspection procedures!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- DannyB (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:26pm
  
  Re: Listen up other industries!
  Okay, wait. That was sarcasm.
  
  It is impossible to parody the RIAA or MPAA without it being taken seriously.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:21pm

tell the MPAA to go fuck itself! it's not as if Amazon NEEDS their stuff to make money, is it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:36pm

Other obvious demands are included, all aimed at preventing the leak or physical theft of studio goods: no portable devices with storage capabilities, no baggy clothes, and employees' meals must be brought to work in transparent bags.
Good job I don't work for Amazon, since doing could require that I be decapitated. ;)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 12:47pm

It's hilarious that you dorks hate Hollywood so much, yet simultaneously, you're constantly scheming to illegally get their content. LOL
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:13pm
  
  Re:
  Actually, it's established law that the second hand market isn't illegal, but your obvious interest in sadism, necrophilia, and bestiality is really quite funny.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 1 Sep 2015 @ 4:56am
    
    Re: Re:
    When you consider that antidirt insists that corpses of artists still have to have tribute paid to them 75 years after death - it's not surprising to see he has a thing for fucking over the dead.
    
    Small wonder why he spends all his time trolling this site on his wife's laptop instead of with his wife.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Sheogorath (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 12:57pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Sadism = flogging. Necrophilia = dead. Bestiality = horse. Get it now?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 1 Sep 2015 @ 6:06pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Fair enough, though you'll notice that doesn't actually disprove the probable theory that he has a thing for fucking the dead.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- jupiterkansas (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:14pm
  
  Re:
  And you missed the point completely.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:33pm
  
  Re:
  Believe it or not, some people's hatred of Hollywood is far greater than any love for the digital effluent that spews from it.
  
  Although I haven't done so in many years, I used to make it a point to acquire things I had no personal interest in and share this often-unreleased material on the 'wider' internet just to stick it to the copyright corporations. (and I did it mostly anonymously, unlike some who seemed to enjoy the status that such actions tend to bring)
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Uriel-238 (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 5:24pm
  
  No, it's far worse.
  We hate Hollywood so much (and by that I mean the mean-spirited players of Hollywood, such as the MPAA, Sony, Disney, et al.) and yet simultaneously we're constantly scheming to get content that doesn't come from Hollywood.
  
  For a while now, the content produced in Hollywood -- even as far as the Skywalker Ranch north of here -- has been mediocre at best and downright offensive at worst.
  
  And Hollywood now has plenty of competition.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:03pm

...(Amazon) forces employees spend up to an hour of unpaid time every day waiting to be searched...

Despite the rambling the troll is right on this part. There was a court case that sided with Amazon on that issue. What wasn't covered in that case: were those actually Amazon employees or contracted employees. There is an Amazon 'fullfillment center' in my area and they use contract employees. The basic issue still needs to be resolved either by legislation or by court case: if an employee is NOT free to leave the employer's property they should be on the clock until they are free to leave. In the cited case the time clock was a significant distance away from the security checkpoint. Had the time clock been next to the security checkpoint there likely would have been no case.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:08pm

the fallacy of "airtight' security
Bennie Lydell Glover -- "The Man Who Broke the Music Business" -- worked at a music CD pressing plant back in the 1990s that was placed under military-grade security after repeated leaks, yet that still didn't stop him from swiping unreleased albums and getting them out of the facility and onto the internet -- year after year.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/27/the-man-who-broke-the-music-business

That was before the era of the thumb-drive, devices that would seem custom-made for body-cavity concealment ;)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:24pm

Any chance at some contradictions in what they are requiring?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:34pm

LMFAO ,MPAA you are close to being the most evil corporate entity known to man, ...keep up the good work .
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:34pm

And THIS is why p2p provides the best end-user experience
Even if it means sifting through degrees of quality (from in-theater recordings to blu-rips) to resolution to compression methods, with torrents you're plagued with an overwhelming abundance of choices.

In the meantime, the MPAA is trying to block anyone from offering a legitimate means to see Hollywood content except through their exorbitant, ad-ridden, high-suspicion processing machine, which only goes to highlight their attitude of artistic-media-as-manufactured-product.

No wonder they can't compete with peer-to-peer, and no wonder all sorts of indie material is utilizing peer-to-peer as a distro model.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 1:56pm

No wonder they can't compete with peer-to-peer, and no wonder all sorts of indie material is utilizing peer-to-peer as a distro model.
Peer-to-peer tends not to have subtitles even on professionally produced works, which is why I scour second hand market stalls in preference to purchasing indie films from the Internet. (I'm not deaf, I have auditory processing issues.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Uriel-238 (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 2:21pm
  
  DO NOT WANT!
  From what I've seen there are plenty of subtitles or closed-captions available, either attached to a given package or downloadable from specialty sites. Granted, some of them are of dubious quality, depending on the fluency of the translator.
  
  Of course, this does sometimes mean having to actually hunt down a subtitles file, but in the rare times I've needed one independent of the original kit, I've always been able to find one.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 5:27pm
    
    Re: DO NOT WANT!
    True, but you can't use those files on an Android, which is why I look for second hand DVDs instead. One look at the back of the case tells me whether or not the film is accessible, and I don't have to chance it on YouTube.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 5:38pm
      
      Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
      It's a small matter to wrap the .srt file and the video file into a .mkv container before you re-encode for the android, about the same amount of work as ripping and encoding a dvd with burnt in subs
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 6:01pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        If you have access to a PC, maybe.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 8:14pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        How do you have an android device but not a computer?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Sheogorath (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 9:09pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        Ownership of a PC is not a prerequisite to owning a mobile computer, numbnuts.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 9:18pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        A computer is a necessary precursor to watching a DVD on a phone though, which is what you said you were doing. Do you have a phone with a DVD drive in it? It must be enormous.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Sheogorath (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 1:02pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        Actually, having a PC is a prerequisite for ripping a DVD to view its contents on a phone, it's not a prerequisite for watching a film on a phone as YouTube can attest. Which underdeveloped nation do you live in where no one's ever heard of a DVD player?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        John Fenderson (profile), 2 Sep 2015 @ 9:41am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        I think that the point is if you're doing the ripping, you can add any subtitles you like as part of that process. You'll end up with a video that plays just fine on Android devices.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Sheogorath (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 1:36pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        "True, but you can't use those files on an Android, which is why I look for second hand DVDs instead." = "Watches DVDs."
        "True, but you can't use those files on an Android, which is why I look for second hand DVDs instead." =/= "Watches DVDs on phone."
        Assumption much?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Anonymous Coward, 1 Sep 2015 @ 1:56pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
        ¿¿=/=??
        
        ≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠
        there's a key for that. (option + =)
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Uriel-238 (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 5:03pm
        
        Some of us don't have option keys
        Though I like fancy characters and keep the character map handy.
        
        Though some readers may not have access to the full unicode set, so we're often in the habit of using only ASCII 32-127.
        
        Unless we're sure something makes sense in çòňŧëɤʈ
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        tqk (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 6:21pm
        
        Re: Some of us don't have option keys
        Unless we're sure something makes sense in çòňŧëɤʈ
        
        Some of us get by with just cut+paste (see? :-). If I'm a unilingual Anglo-phone, why would I even want to know how to do what you did above? I'm sure I'd just muck it up through ignorance.
        
        It's great we have unicode. Stuff gets displayed correctly nowadays, even if I don't know an umlaut from a hole in the ground. Or a doubly crossed "t", or any of the rest of that stuff we decided we didn't need here in the colonies or Britain.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Uriel-238 (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 7:24pm
        
        Umlauts.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
        
        Uriel-238 (profile), 1 Sep 2015 @ 7:30pm
        
        Umlauts!
        How do you refer to metal bands without the glorious umlaut?
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - techflaws (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 10:02pm
      
      Re: Re: DO NOT WANT!
      Of course you can, install VLC.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 2:05pm

Something about this story reminds me of the following excerpt from the Gnu Manifesto:

Arrangements to make people pay for using a program, including licensing of copies, always incur a tremendous cost to society through the cumbersome mechanisms necessary to figure out how much (that is, which programs) a person must pay for. And only a police state can force everyone to obey them. Consider a space station where air must be manufactured at great cost: charging each breather per liter of air may be fair, but wearing the metered gas mask all day and all night is intolerable even if everyone can afford to pay the air bill. And the TV cameras everywhere to see if you ever take the mask off are outrageous.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Uriel-238 (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 2:23pm
  
  This will happen.
  If we survive long enough to get off world, someone is going to expect people to wear breath meters.
  
  Because we're just that kind of species.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - BernardoVerda (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 7:36pm
    
    Re: This will happen.
    Yes... We're a very, very clever species (we're just not very smart).
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Kaaryn W, 31 Aug 2015 @ 2:06pm

Encryption
And I thought it was pretty clear by now that there are no legitimate uses of encryption but for terrorism. That must be why they dropped the CTPAT certification requirement. The MPAA does not want to be investigated by the DHS.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
tqk (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 4:20pm

2015 MPAA added the requirements to perform quarterly vuln scans of external IP ranges, secure any point to point connections by using dedicated, private connections and by using encryption. Additionally the requirement to implement baseline security requirements for WAN network infrastructure devices and services.

I've got to wonder how much of this Sony took seriously prior to their latest multi-terabyte hack. So, we should expend whoompteen yada yada to protect their stuff while they couldn't be bothered to even lock down their network from script-kiddies stealing their Imaginary Property nor their executives' emails discussing their valuable IP and their employee's PII?

Er? Hey! Why's anyone caring about doofus yammerers like them?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Glenn, 31 Aug 2015 @ 4:29pm

Ultimately, the MPAA wants everyone to pay full-price for everything they watch every time they watch it (whether they've bought it [to "own"] already or not).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 4:50pm

"The MPAA Will Let Amazon Touch Its Stuff"

EEwwwwwwww!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That Anonymous Coward (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 5:53pm

"forbid them from talking about protected content"

And the MPAA being the MPAA this could mean don't mention that cool new track you heard to your friends to encourage them to discover new artists & songs they might like.

The first rule of music promotion is don't talk about the music.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 6:11pm

antidirt and out_of_the_blue just hate it when due process is enforced.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
johnvanvliet (profile), 31 Aug 2015 @ 6:21pm

mpaa
And here i thought being forced( ant gun point) to be naked while weighing out bags of "coke" and "heroin" was bad ......
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2015 @ 6:23pm

No thank you!
"the MPAA demands"

People ( not the MPAA ) who want my company to sell their stuff can ask or negotiate about terms but if anyone goes as far as they do and DEMAND things then at least for my business it is an automated case of "Thanks for your interest. We are sorry that we didn't agree on terms."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Lisboeta, 1 Sep 2015 @ 6:32am

An opportunity?
I hope someone makes a parody video of the MPAA brainstorming (I use that word loosely) session when those demands were formulated. They missed a couple of things though: the need to wear blindfolds and earplugs to prevent seeing/hearing the merchandise being handled. And what's to stop a person concealing a monitoring/recording device in the transparent bag of cold spaghetti bolognese?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]