EFF: Rejects Broadcast Flag, Urges FCC to Stop Hollywood from Dominating Technology

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Monday, December 9, 2002


Contact:

Cory Doctorow
   Outreach Coordinator
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   cory () eff org
   +1 415 436-9333 x106 (office), +1 415 726-5209 (cell)

Seth Schoen
   Staff Technologist
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   schoen () eff org
   +1 415 436-9333 x107

Fred von Lohmann
   Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   fred () eff org
   +1 415 436-9333 x123 (office), +1 415 215-6087 (cell)


Electronic Frontier Foundation Rejects Broadcast Flag

Urges FCC to Stop Hollywood from Dominating Technology

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
on Friday rejected Hollywood's "Broadcast Flag" proposal,
advising the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to set
aside Hollywood's latest bid to undermine fair use and
stymie innovation.

EFF filed comments with the FCC opposing the Broadcast Flag
proposal because the proposal would give Hollywood
unwarranted control over the development of digital
television (DTV) and related technologies to the detriment
of creators and consumers of the technologies.

"A broadcast flag mandate is an ineffective solution to a
non-existent problem," explained EFF in its comments on the
proposed rulemaking submitted to the FCC. "At the same
time, any broadcast flag mandate will impose genuine and
substantial costs on consumers and innovators. It would
raise the cost of DTV devices while reducing the value that
they represent to consumers. It would stifle innovation in
DTV and general-purpose technologies. It would abridge the
First Amendment freedoms of software authors. All of this,
in the end, will impede, rather than encourage, the
transition to DTV."

The Broadcast Flag--a signal to be added to all DTV
broadcasts--is a critical weapon in Hollywood's arsenal
aimed at strangling innovation and fair use. In the
"Content Protection Status Report," the entertainment
industry sets out a roadmap for giving entertainment
companies control over the design of general-purpose
computers, over analog-to-digital converters, and over the
Internet itself.

The FCC initiated the Broadcast Flag proceedings last summer
after receiving a letter from Senator Ernest "Fritz"
Hollings, author of the Consumer Broadband and Digital
Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA). The CBDTPA is a sweeping
proposal that would require technologists to seek
permission from entertainment companies prior to making new
technologies available to the public. Industry observers
have described the Broadcast Flag as a "mini-CBDTPA."

EFF has led the effort to educate the public about the
Broadcast Flag, attending every meeting of the Motion
Picture Association of America's Broadcast Protection
Discussion Group and popularizing relevant issues on the
"Consensus at Lawyerpoint" weblog.

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/20021209_eff_bpdg_pr.html

EFF comments to FCC on Broadcast Flag proposal:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/20021206_fcc_comments.html

Consensus at Lawyerpoint weblog:
http://bpdg.blogs.eff.org/

GNU Radio:
http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuradio/gnuradio.html

EFF "Intellectual Property - Video - HDTV/BPDG/Digital
Television/Digital Cable" archive:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/


About EFF:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at
http://www.eff.org/

                            -end-





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