Interoperable Provenance Authentication of Broadcast Media using Open Standards-based Metadata, Watermarking and Cryptography

TL;DR

This paper explores an interoperable approach for verifying broadcast media provenance using open standards, cryptography, and watermarking to combat misinformation and enhance trust in digital content.

Contribution

It analyzes the integration of C2PA cryptographic metadata and ATSC watermarking standards for broadcast provenance verification, proposing methods for effective implementation.

Findings

Open standards like C2PA and ATSC are suitable for broadcast provenance.

Cryptographic metadata and watermarks can validate authenticity effectively.

The paper identifies success and failure scenarios for these standards.

Abstract

The spread of false and misleading information is receiving significant attention from legislative and regulatory bodies. Consumers place trust in specific sources of information, so a scalable, interoperable method for determining the provenance and authenticity of information is needed. In this paper we analyze the posting of broadcast news content to a social media platform, the role of open standards, the interplay of cryptographic metadata and watermarks when validating provenance, and likely success and failure scenarios. We conclude that the open standards for cryptographically authenticated metadata developed by the Coalition for Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) and for audio and video watermarking developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) are well suited to address broadcast provenance. We suggest methods for using these standards for optimal success.