IP: Public-Interest Groups Ask FCC to Consider Consumer Impact of Broadcast Flag

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Mike Godwin <mnemonic () well com>
Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 00:25:44 -0400
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Public-Interest Groups Ask FCC to Consider Consumer Impact of
Broadcast Flag

PRESS RELEASE

Public Interest Groups Call Upon FCC to Consider
Consumer Impact in Broadcast Flag Rulemaking

(Washington) Aug. 7, 2002 - Three public interest groups jointly
called upon the Federal Communications Commission today to consider
the possible consumer impacts of adopting a "broadcast flag" standard
designed to limit the ability to make copies of digital-broadcast
television programs.  The Commission is expected to announce a notice
of proposed rule making about the copy protection standard tomorrow.

The three groups - Consumers Union, Public Knowledge, and the Center
for Democracy and Technology - say they hope to raise awareness at
the FCC that adoption of any broadcast flag standard raises serious
questions about consumer expectations regarding reasonable copying
for personal use, and regarding the continuing usefulness of their
consumer-technology and computer equipment.

"Consumers have interests in protecting copyrights for digital
television so that high quality content will be available. They also
have an interest in protecting their own reasonable expectations
about personal uses of programming, and in the future health and
growth of the Internet," said CDT Executive Director Jerry Berman.
"The broadcast flag raises many unsettled policy questions, and it is
fair for consumers to ask that those questions be addressed before
regulations are made."

Chris Murray, Internet and Telecommunications Counsel for Consumers
Union cited specific concerns about the flag.  "Right now, I can
digitally record a news program in my living room, then watch that
recording in another room, or in my office, or at my friend's house.
Will the FCC's rulemaking guarantee that I'll continue to be able to
do this in the future?"

The "broadcast flag" is, essentially, a way of "marking" commercial
digital-television content so that consumer electronics and computers
will recognize the marks and limit consumers' ability to make copies.
Copyright holders have raised legitimate concerns about the
possibilities for unauthorized copying created by over-the-air,
digital broadcasts in the clear. Congress, and now the FCC, have been
asked to consider regulations on a potentially broad range of
consumer electronics devices, computers, and software to implement a
broadcast flag copyright protection mechanism.

"We share the FCC's interest in speeding the transition to digital
television-and as the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, we
share the content community's interest in copyright protection-but we
want to make sure that consumer concerns get just as much attention
as industry demands have," said Murray.

"It is not at all clear that adopting a broadcast flag will speed the
rollout of DTV," added Gigi Sohn, President of Public Knowledge. "The
FCC should consider whether the added value of a broadcast flag will
be worth the impacts of the broadcast flag requirements on consumers
and on the broader health of the Internet."

In a report submitted in July to Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-Louisiana), the
three groups noted that key consumer questions posed by the
broadcast-flag proposal should include:
… How will the proposed solution affect consumers? Will they have to
buy substantial new equipment? Will they be able to exercise the fair
use rights they have reasonably come to expect?
… Are there downstream impacts on other computing technologies? For
example, will the broadcast-flag-based restrictions have a negative
impact on innovation and the growth of the Internet? Will it set a
precedent for broader government standard-setting, including
standard-setting outside the FCC's traditional jurisdiction?
… Will it be effective? Will the proposal sufficiently diminish the
copyright infringement at issue, or will additional steps be needed?
Can it be implemented fast enough to promote greater DTV adoption?
… What are the costs for consumers? How much will implementing the
broadcast-flag standard add to the economic and convenience costs of
DTV and of other consumer technologies?
… Do the likely benefits of the broadcast flag outweigh the likely costs?

The report is available online at
http://www.cdt.org/copyright/020719bpdg.pdf
The proposed rulemaking also raises jurisdictional questions for the
FCC. In order for the broadcast flag to prevent copyright
infringement of DTV content the FCC may be called on to set rules for
every kind of device that can capture or play DTV content and connect
to the Internet, including ordinary personal computers.

Finally, the groups are calling for broader dialog and broader
consumer input in the standard-setting process.  "We believe that all
sides in the debate would benefit from developing clearer answers to
these questions," Berman said, adding that the three groups "are
eager to work with the Commission, Congress, and industry
stakeholders to get greater input from consumers in this process."
For further information, please contact: Alan Davidson, Associate
Director, Center for Democracy and Technology, 202-637-9800,
abd () cdt org; Chris Murray, Telecommunications and Internet Counsel,
Consumers Union, 202-462-6262, murrch () consumer org;  Gigi Sohn,
President, Public Knowledge, 202-518-0020,
gbsohn () publicknowledge org; Mike Godwin, Staff Counsel, Center for
Democracy and Technology, 202-637-9800, godwin () cdt org

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