Lawsuit Questions FCC's Authority to Mandate Copy Protection on All
Hardware That Receives Digital TV Signals
Washington, DC - When the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) broadcast
flag mandate goes into effect next year, it will be unlawful to sell devices
that can tune in digital television without imposing copy protection on the
signal. Many groups have argued that the mandate will hobble people's ability to
make fair use of their media. And late yesterday, nine public interest
organizations -- including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Public
Knowledge (PK), and the American Library Association (ALA) -- told the US Appeals
Court, DC Circuit, that the FCC exceeded its authority by imposing the broadcast
flag regime.
The "flag" is a small amount of data included in a digital TV signal that
gives instructions on how the programming may be used by devices that directly
receive the signal. This has the potential to severely limit the lawful
distribution, use, and backup of digital programs.
"This is a crucial case that will determine how much control the government
and Hollywood will have over current and future digital media devices consumers
love now and will in the future," said Gigi B. Sohn, president of Public
Knowledge and co-counsel for the groups.
EFF staff attorney Wendy Seltzer said, "Right now, you can put an HDTV tuner
card into a PC and build a digital video recorder that lets you watch digital
television as you choose. We shouldn't have to trade that freedom for
government-designed TVs."
The brief argues that the FCC has no authority to regulate digital TV sets
and other digital devices unless specifically instructed to do so by Congress.
While the FCC does have jurisdiction over TV transmissions, transmissions are
not at issue here. The broadcast flag limits the way digital material can be
used after the broadcast has already been received. "Bowing to a group of
copyright holders led by the MPAA, the FCC promulgated a rule drafted by those
corporate interests that will dictate design aspects of a vast array of consumer
electronics - televisions, DVD recorders, TiVos, digital VCRs, iPods, and cell
phones - for years to come," the brief reads.
ALA legislative counsel Miriam M. Nisbet said, "Two years ago Congress passed
a law allowing for use of copyrighted works for distance education. Yet now the
FCC through the broadcast flag would prevent schools from using an entire
category of those works -- high definition television programs -- in distance
education."
Filing the brief along with EFF, PK, and the ALA were the Association of
Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library
Association, Special Libraries Association, Consumer Federation of America, and
Consumers Union.
Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
