A Case in Proof

Establishing Authenticity
Withthe proliferation of emerging technologies, including tools tomanipulate digital files, does authenticity become easier or harder toestablish? It depends. Fausto Tito Poza, an audio forensic consultantand expert witness, says the nature of the recording will influence itsease of manipulation; sometimes it is easier to alter an analogrecording than it is to alter a digital one.

Just because a particulartechnology exists, doesn't mean people have the requisite skills to useit effectively. Many of us are familiar with software programs likePhotoshop that allow us to manipulate digital photographs. Althoughthere are more than 5 million registered Photoshop users, not all ofthem have the skills to swap the head of a favorite celebrity with anex-spouse's head on last year's Christmas picture and make it lookauthentic.

Digital recordings, because oftheir dynamic nature, may be more difficult to manipulate thanphotographs. While with a photo, manipulators need to be concerned withelements such as color, size, and shadow, with audio, one needs to beconcerned not only with the words but also with subtleties likebackground noises.

ProTools by Digidesign, a softwareapplication for recording and editing audio, is most often used tocreate and manipulate sound for films, records, and other entertainmentindustry projects. Users can cut sentences, change word order, cleanrecordings, and even generate background noise. With prices starting at$300, the software is well within the reach of users who may haveless-thanbenevolent purposes. It even keeps extensive metadata in itsfiles, according to Francois Quereuil, worldwide segment marketingmanager for Digidesign, but it is not impossible to manipulate theselogs.

Even with the skills one needs toeffectively alter a digital recording, some experts believe theconvergence of digital technologies with the liberal standards of theFRE is trouble waiting to happen. Although we've not yet reached thetipping point, doing so may be inevitable.

There is no easy way to tightenthe standard without keeping good recordings out, according to BasilDezes, dean of the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. Pozaagrees. He goes further, believing the standard will not change beforean unjust outcome with tragic results is discovered, perhaps in acapital murder case.