FCC orders "broadcast flag" for digital TV, from Tech Daily [ip]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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From: "Clark, Drew" <dclark () nationaljournal com>
To: "Declan McCullagh (E-mail)" <declan () well com>,
Subject: For [Politech]
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2003 18:11:35 -0500

Just posted on Technology Daily:

Technology Daily Breaking News
FCC: Digital TV Makers Must Include Anti-Piracy Technology
The FCC announced late Tuesday that it will require
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-240759A1.pdf> digital
television manufacturers to include "broadcast flag" technology in their
sets by July 2005 in an attempt to stop individuals in the future from
pirating digital television programs.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-240759A2.pdf> that
the commission's decision "strikes a careful balance between content
protection and technology innovation in order to promote consumer
interests."
In an accompanying press release
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-240759A1.pdf>, the
agency said it had established a series of "objective criteria" and that it
had made other modifications to the flag. The FCC also declined to bar
broadcasters from marking news and public affairs programming with the flag.

All five commissioners supported elements of the decision, but Commissioners
Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein dissented on parts of it.
In his statement, Powell said the public would benefit from the decision
because of the availability of high-definition digital programming through
over-the-air broadcasting.
He also said the commission had modified the proposal originally urged by
the Motion Picture Association of America <http://www.mpaa.org/> (MPAA). "As
recommended by many in the information technology community, we have
identified objective criteria to guide our decisions on new content
technologies. These criteria lay out a roadmap for companies seeking to
bring new technologies to market." The flag technology has been a flashpoint
in the battle between Hollywood and Silicon Valley over technology mandates.

As originally designed by News Corp. and subsequently ratified by all MPAA
companies, the flag would have required all manufacturers to use encryption
technology patented by only six electronics companies, including Intel and
IBM.
Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy supported
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-240759A3.pdf> the
decision "because of the changes we have made to the way transmission and
recording technologies are approved." She added, "While we are asking for
further comment on this issue, we set up on an interim basis a transparent,
open and objective approval process that will promote the development of
competition in the marketplace and foster innovation."
The FCC is establishing an interim process to consider content-protection
technologies on an expedited basis. The agency hopes to finalize the list of
approved technologies by early 2004. In addition, the agency is seeking more
input on determining the criteria it should use for approving
content-protection technologies.
But Copps and Adelstein were not fully satisfied with the decision.
"I dissent in part, first, because the commission does not preclude the use
of the flag for news or for content that is already in the public domain,"
Copps said in a statement
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-240759A4.pdf>. He
also said he dissented from elements of the order because it did "not
expressly consider the impact of a technology on personal privacy."
Adelstein said
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-240759A5.pdf>, "I
dissent in part, as I do not believe we have fully achieved our goal of
creating an effective and appropriately tailored pro-consumer digital
broadcast television protection regime."
In the accompanying press release, the FCC said, "digital videocassette
records, digital videodisc players and personal computers that are not built
with digital tuners installed are not required to comply with the new rule."


by Drew Clark <mailto:dclark () nationaljournal com>, National Journal's
Technology Daily
© National Journal Group


Drew Clark
Senior Writer, National Journal's Technology Daily

National Journal's Technology Daily home:
http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/techdaily
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