The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) has published the version of its technical specification for digital provenance.
The specification is the first of its kind and aims to empower content creators and editors worldwide to create tamper-evident media, by enabling them to selectively disclose information about who created or changed digital content and how it was altered.
This C2PA said the specification will provide platforms with a method to define what information is associated with each type of asset (e.g., images, videos, audio, or documents), how that information is presented and stored, and how evidence of tampering can be identified.
As an open standard, it is designed to be adopted by any software, device, or online platform.
“The release of the C2PA’s first specification for media provenance is a huge achievement in the way that the industry has come together to tackle the issues in such a short timescale. It is an important and exciting tool to help us tackle disinformation and for everyone to be able to determine where their content originated,” said Jatin Aythora, director of research and development, BBC.
The C2PA was first launched in February 2021 and counts Adobe, the BBC, Intel, Microsoft and Truepic among its founders.
Following the release of its draft specification in September 2021, the C2PA said it has been through a deliberate and thorough community review and feedback period to finalise the specification and ensure it reflects the complex nature of this effort.
Moving forward, the C2PA said it remains focused on ensuring that the specification is used in ways that respect privacy and personal control of data with a critical eye toward potential abuse and misuse.
The specification details are available on the C2PA’s website.
