Correcting Misinformation on the Adobe Privacy Gusher

We've learned quite a lot about Adobe Digital Editions version 4 (ADE4) since Nate Hoffelder broke the story that "Adobe is Spying on Users, Collecting Data on Their eBook Libraries". Unfortunately, there's also been a some bad information that's been generated along with the furor.

One thing that's clear is that Adobe Digital Editions version 4 is not well designed. It's also clear that our worst fears about ADE4 - that it was hunting down ALL the ebooks on a user's computer on installation and reporting them to Adobe - are not true. I've been participating with Nate and some techy people in the library and ebook world (including Galen, Liza, and Andromeda) to figure out what's really going on. It's looking more like an incompetently-designed, half-finished synchronization system than a spy tool. Follow Nate's blog to get the latest.

So, some misconceptions.

1. The data being sent by ADE4 is NOT needed for digital rights management. We know this because the DRM still works if the Adobe "log" site is blocked. Also, we know enough about the Adobe DRM to know it's not THAT stupid.
2. The data being sent by ADE4 is NOT part of the normal functioning of a well designed ebook reader. ADE4 is sending more than it needs to send even to accomplish synchronization. Also, ADE4 isn't really cloud-synchronizing devices, the way BlueFire is doing (well!).

On the legal side:

1. The ADE4 privacy policy is NOT a magic incantation that makes everything it does legal. For example, all 50 states have privacy laws that cover library records. When ADE4 is used for library ebooks, the fact that it broadcasts a user's reading behavior makes it legally suspect. Even if the stream were encrypted, it's not clear that it would be legal.
2. The NJ Reader Privacy Act is NOT an issue...yet. There's been no indication that it's been signed into law. If signed into law, and upheld, and found to apply, then Adobe would owe a lot of people in NJ $500.
3. The California Reader Privacy Act is NOT relevant (as far as I can tell) because it's designed to protect against legal discovery and there's not been any legal process. However, California has a library privacy law.
4. Europe might have more to say.

The bottom line for now is that ADE4 does not so much spy on you as it stumbles around in your closet and sometimes tells Adobe what it finds there. In a loud voice so everyone around can hear. And that's not a nice thing to do.

Update 1PM: Galen Charlton of Equinox Software has now reproduced the scanning behavior reported by Nate Hoffelder. This is important because there was always the possibility that Nate, whose reporting on ereaders has him trying out a lot of stuff, had some strange and unique system configuration.