http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/02/adobe-pushes-drm-flash
... most sites that use these [Flash and FLV] formats simply serve
standalone, unencrypted files via ordinary web servers.
Now Adobe, which controls Flash and Flash Video, is trying to change
that with the introduction of DRM restrictions in version 9 of its
Flash Player and version 3 of its Flash Media Server software. Instead
of an ordinary web download, these programs can use a proprietary,
secret Adobe protocol to talk to each other, encrypting the
communication and locking out non-Adobe software players and video
tools. We imagine that Adobe has no illusions that this will stop
copyright infringement -- any more than dozens of other DRM systems
have done so -- but the introduction of encryption does give Adobe and
its customers a powerful new legal weapon against competitors and
ordinary users through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Recall that the DMCA sets out a blanket ban on tools that help
"circumvent" any DRM system (as well as the act of circumvention
itself). When Flash Video files are simply hosted on a web site with
no encryption, it's unlikely that tools to download, edit, or remix
them are illegal. But when encryption enters the picture,
entertainment companies argue that fair use is no excuse; Adobe, or
customers using Flash Media Server 3, can try to shut down users who
break the encryption without having to prove that the users are doing
anything copyright-infringing. Even if users aren't targeted directly,
technology developers may be threatened and the technologies the users
need driven underground.
Users may also have to upgrade their Flash Player software (and open
source alternatives like Gnash, which has been making rapid progress,
may be unable to play the encrypted streams at all). ...
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