The argument is way more nuanced than whether something is on torrent or not. Which is why it appears that I'm arguing against myself. I'm not.
I originally brought up that without DRM, someone could rip netflix's entire catalog and publish it straight to bittorrent. Thats a concern to IP stakeholders and likely a big reason they require DRM from Netflix.
He's saying "they're on torrent already, so why should netflix use DRM?". I'm countering that argument with the fact that just because something is available DRM-free on torrent doesn't mean it's as easy to access as Netflix, which requires DRM.
The broader point is that DRM can be technically ineffective, as in it can be circumvented, but it can still be "functional", as in fulfilling its originally intended function. DeCSS was published in '99, yet it's still not easy for an average user (grandma) to duplicate a DVD.
> DeCSS was published in '99, yet it's still not easy for an average user (grandma) to duplicate a DVD.
Would ripping a DVD really be easier without the DRM, for an average user? To strip the DRM you just need to have libdvdcss (or whatever) installed, and your ripping software strips the DRM without you even knowing it's there. It's not much harder than ripping a CD.
HandBrake doesn't even tell you there's any DRM- it's completely transparent, more or less one button to rip.
