A method includes: receiving a blacklist identifying piracy threatening items that pose a piracy threat such that, if installed and active with playback of the digital media content on the client, the piracy threatening items facilitate unauthorized use of the digital media content, the piracy threatening items on the blacklist having associated priority values; identifying first and second subsets of piracy threatening items in the blacklist responsive to the associated priority values; determining whether one or more piracy threatening items associated with the first subset are present on the client; performing a DRM transaction provisioning the digital media content for playback responsive to determining that no piracy threatening items associated with the first subset are present on the client; and determining whether to play back the digital media content responsive to determining whether one or more piracy threatening items associated with the second subset are present on the client.