C2PA provenance expansion leaves truth gap

The author argues that while media provenance technologies like the C2PA standard and hardware signing are advancing, they solve the question of origin rather than truth, leaving a dangerous gap exploited by authentic media used out of context. Furthermore, rigorous evaluations show that text watermarking schemes fail basic forensic robustness standards against simple paraphrasing, and strict regulatory compliance mandates like the EU AI Act risk creating a false sense of security. Ultimately, provenance infrastructure primarily protects well-resourced institutions while potentially disadvantaging marginalized voices who cannot produce cryptographic manifests. Open article →