bySayantani Barman Experta en el extranjero
Reading Passage Question
The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a copy protection technology used by the motion picture and software industries in order to prevent unauthorized duplication and redistribution of copyrighted content. The system works by encoding information in such a way that it must be decrypted using various code keys in order to be played or displayed; said keys are wired into certain devices and media players directly and not made available for public use, lest a consumer extract information, such as a film or a computer game, to resell privately without the manufacturer's permission.
In early 2007, one such key surfaced on various Internet technology and digital media forums, containing the appropriate tools required to access and copy the information encoded on high-definition DVD and Blu-Ray optical video discs. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the consortium administrating AACS demanded that websites cease publishing the key or providing links to information about it, in compliance with the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Certain sites removed the information, but the Internet community at large persisted in distributing it in great numbers in the name of free speech, defiantly blanketing common channels with the very information that was meant to be suppressed.
Although defenders of the DMCA maintained that the released key, known for short as 09 F9, encouraged widespread copyright infringement, the counter-argument was aided by a fascinating loophole in the nature of the key itself, which is a 128-bit hexadecimal number. Any information encoded in binary format – condensed into a lengthy series of ones and zeroes, or bits – can, in principle, be stretched back into a very long number, meaning that to outlaw possession or propagation of a trade secret (such as an encryption key) or classified information in digital form is, in essence, to make a certain number illegal. If publishing a key for copying high-definition DVDs is an unambiguous violation of copyright law, using a 38-digit number that also happens to encode that key is much more of a gray area, and one with no real legal precedent.
While the controversy surrounding 09 F9 aired a longstanding discontent on the part of the technological community with the provisions of the DMCA, the AACS-related outcry represents more than an objection to overly stringent copyright law: a collective bristling at the notion that something as elemental as an integer can be owned, in a private and legally binding sense, by a company is the philosophical crux of the issue, and that which will make it so difficult to resolve.
‘The Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a copy protection technology’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions.
The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Questions and Solutions
- The author's purpose in this passage is to:
(A) expose an unanticipated flaw in common copy protection technology.
(B) clarify an ambiguous legal and philosophical loophole in American copyright law.
(C) criticize the overly restrictive modalities that led to widespread Internet protests.
(D) opine that modern copyright law must change to accommodate new technologies.
(E) shed light on a paradoxical feature of regulating digital media distribution.
Answer: E
Explanation: A is incorrect because neither the vulnerability of the AACS law to hacking nor the idea that a number can be illegal is described as a flaw. B is tempting but not correct. C and D aren't mentioned in the paragraph. E most nearly describes the overall thing of the textbook to point out an intriguing problem that has arisen from the ease with which information can be decrypted.
- Which of the following best describes the structure of the passage?
(A) Description of a problem followed by various proposed solutions
(B) Consideration of a philosophical issue alongside a concrete example
(C) Anecdote followed by consideration of its historical implications
(D) General legal discussion preceded by specific technical background
(E) Context of an issue and then inquiry into the details of one stance
Answer: D
Explanation: A is obviously false. the problem is relatively complex, and no results are proposed. C is near to correct, but still out" literal counteraccusations " is an awkward way to describe the enterprises raised in the passage. E goes too far in suggesting that the textbook has an overall opinion. B is too broad, both in its description of the main issue as" philosophical". In its use of the word" alongside" to indicate how the corridor of the passage relate to one another. D may feel to reverse the order of motifs in the textbook, but flashback that" anteceded by" is the contrary of" followed by".
- All of the following can be concluded from the passage except:
(A) It is in the best interest of the MPAA that the DMCA be observed.
(B) DMCA regulations are unpopular among many Internet users.
(C) The AACS encryption key copyright controversy is unprecedented.
(D) Any set of digitally encoded information is technically an integer.
(E) AACS is a relatively new copy protection standard.
Answer: C
Explanation: B and D are directly supported by the textbook. A can be rightly inferred because the MPAA was one of the forces demanding the junking of the key in agreement with the DMCA. E is a bit harder to infer but it has been mentioned. C is deceiving, although the passage says there's no legal precedent dealing with illegal figures, the author noway says this contestation was the first of its kind.
- Which of the following would not be an example of a DMCA violation?
(A) A bootleg copy of an advance promotional copy of a music album
(B) An Internet post of a deleted scene from a special-edition DVD
(C) A duplicate of a photo-editing software program made free of charge
(D) A version of a computer game copied from a retail CD and sold to friends
(E) A home-video capture of a movie recently released in theaters
Answer: E
Explanation: C and D are red herrings and the content is copied for profit or not is not the point here. The important distinction is whether it's duplicated digitally. All of the options except E involve the birth of digital information for a use that will remain digital. On the other hand, a home videotape is an analog moonshine of digital media, which, although this is still a copyright violation, means the enterprises of the DMCA aren't technically applicable.
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