| EME | |
|---|---|
| Encrypted Media Extensions | |
| Abbreviation | EME, encrypted-media |
| Native name | Encrypted Media Extensions |
| Status | W3C Recommendation |
| Year started | 2013 (2013) |
| First published | May 10, 2013 (2013-05-10)[1] |
| Latest version | 2017-09-18 September 18, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-09-18)[2] |
| Preview version | Editor's Draft November 26, 2025; 2 months ago (2025-11-26)[3] |
| Organization | [2][3] |
| Committee |
|
| Editors | |
| Base standards | |
| Domain | Digital rights management |
| Website |
|
Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) is aW3C specification for providing a communication channel betweenweb browsers and the Content Decryption Module (CDM) software which implementsdigital rights management (DRM).[2] This allows the use ofHTML video to play back DRM-wrapped content such asstreaming video services without the use of heavy third-party media plugins likeAdobe Flash orMicrosoft Silverlight (both discontinued). The use of a third-partykey management system may be required, depending on whether the publisher chooses to scramble the keys.
EME is based on theMedia Source Extensions (MSE) specification,[4] which enables adaptive bitrate streaming in HTML audio and video, e.g. usingMPEG-DASH withMPEG-CENC protected content.[5][6]
EME has been highly controversial because it places a necessarilyproprietary, closed decryption component which requires per-browser licensing fees into what might otherwise be an entirely open and free software ecosystem.[7][8] On July 6, 2017, W3C publicly announced its intention to publish an EME web standard,[9] and did so on September 18.[2] On the same day, theElectronic Frontier Foundation, who joined in 2014 to participate in the decision making,[10] published an open letter resigning from W3C.[11]
In April 2013, on theSamsung Chromebook,Netflix became the first company to offer HTML video using EME.[12]
As of 2016[update], the Encrypted Media Extensions interface has been implemented in theGoogle Chrome,[13]Internet Explorer,[14]Safari,[15]Firefox,[16] andMicrosoft Edge[17] browsers.
While backers and the developers of the Firefox web browser were hesitant in implementing the protocol for ethical reasons due to its dependency on proprietary code,[18] Firefox introduced EME support on Windows platforms in May 2015, originally usingAdobe's Primetime DRM library, later replaced with theWidevine library (CDM). Firefox's implementation of EME uses an open-sourcesandbox to load the proprietary DRM modules, which are treated asplug-ins that are loaded when EME-encrypted content is requested. The sandbox was also designed to frustrate the ability for services and the DRM touniquely track and identify devices.[16][19] Additionally, it is always possible to disable DRM in Firefox, which then not only disables EME, but also uninstalls the Widevine DRM libraries.[20] Alternately, official Firefox builds that are designated as "EME-free" have been distributed alongside regular Firefox builds as of Firefox 145.0.2.[21][22]
Netflix supports HTML video using EME with a supported web browser: Chrome, Firefox,[23] Microsoft Edge,Internet Explorer (on Windows 8.1 or newer[24]), orSafari (on OS X Yosemite or newer[25]).YouTube supports the MSE.[26] Available players supporting MPEG-DASH using the MSE and EME are NexPlayer,[27] THEOplayer[28] by OpenTelly, the bitdash MPEG-DASH player,[29][30] dash.js[31] byDASH-IF or rx-player.[32]
Note that in Firefox and Chrome, EME does not work unless the media is supplied viaMedia Source Extensions.
Version 4.3 and subsequent versions ofAndroid support EME.[33]
EME has faced strong criticism from both inside[35][36] and outside W3C.[37][38] The major issues for criticism are implementation issues foropen-source browsers, entry barriers for new browsers, lack of interoperability,[39] concerns about security, privacy and accessibility, and possibility of legal trouble in the United States due to Chapter 12[40] of theDMCA.[41][42][43][44]
In July 2020,Reddit started using afingerprinting mechanism that involves loading every DRM module that browsers can support, and logs what ends up loading as part of the data collected. Users noticed this when Firefox began alerting them that Reddit "required" them to load DRM software to play media, although none of the media on the page actually needed it.[45]
As of 2020, the ways in which EME interferes with open source have become concrete. None of the widely used CDMs are being licensed to independent open-source browser providers without paying a per-browser licensing fee (particularly toGoogle – for theirWidevine CDM, which is used in nearly all recently developed web browsers).[7]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)In mobile markets [...] Android has supported MSE since version 4.1, and EME since version 4.3.
Note that IE10 and IE11 on Windows 7 do not have the MSE/EME API available which is required to playback DRM protected video content in HTML5. As a consequence, it is technically not possible for any HTML5-based video player to playback DRM protected content on these browsers in Windows 7.