Technology for easier verification of image provenance and authenticity to be developed by Reuters, Adobe and Canon
Tom Glocer, CEO of the Reuters news agency, has revealed that his organisation is working with Canon and Adobe to develop new image encoding technology to help tackle the problem of validating digital image authenticity. A small number of press photographers have been found guilty of doctoring digital images, which invited disciplinary measures from Reuters.
The whole subject of digital image authenticity is one that is increasing as a concern, both in professional news gathering domain and with ordinary photographers, many of whom have discovered that they, too, are able to produce photographs using devices as simple as camera phones, that have a commercial value with news and other agencies.
If someone sells an image that isn't theirs or if an image has been subtly altered, currently the scope for discovering the truth about the provenance or authenticity of such images is very limited. If widely agreed and implemented standard can be devised to embed key information in an image to maintain details of its true ownership and authenticity, it will be a notable step forward in the development of digital imaging.
Glocer wrote in his personal blog, recently: "I am pleased to announce today that we are working with Adobe and Canon to create a solution that enables photo editors to view an audit trail of changes to a digital image, which is permanently embedded in the photograph, ensuring the accuracy of the image.
"We are still working through the details and hope this will be a new standard for Reuters and I believe should be the new industry standard.
"It is important to say that we sought this technical solution, not because we don’t trust our photographers – far from it. I am incredibly proud of the amazing and dangerous work our photographers and journalists do. They all too often risk their lives to get the photograph that tells the true story of a conflict or captures the horror of war. The threat of injury or death is a daily hazard for many.
"No, we sought a technical solution so that we had total and full transparency of our work. It’s what we stand for. It’s what we’ve always stood for. And we hope that it will provide reassurance to editors and consumers of our services."
Nikon is not mentioned in the initiative, but Nikon has been working with media storage company, Lexar, and other companies on ways of protecting and authenticating camera images, with one particular solution being LockTight.
Let's hope this initiative doesn't end up becoming factionalised, with two 'standards' fighting each other and ending up serving nobody satisfactorily.
