[Infowarrior] - Senators endorse broadcast flag plan

[Richard Forno]

Senators endorse broadcast flag plan

By Anne Broache
http://news.com.com/Senators+endorse+broadcast+flag+plan/2100-1028_3-6088711
.html

Story last modified Tue Jun 27 18:29:24 PDT 2006

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WASHINGTON--A legislative proposal to revive a controversial anticopying
system known as the broadcast flag cleared a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday,
despite misgivings from some senators.

During a day of debate on a wide-ranging communications bill, members of the
Senate Commerce Committee endorsed the idea of requiring digital TV
receivers to restrict redistribution--particularly over the Internet--of
over-the-air broadcasts. The measure would also allow for similar rules, or
an "audio flag," for digital radio receivers.

Also at the committee meeting, chairman Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican,
postponed discussion on what has proved to be one of the thorniest
provisions of the bill: Net neutrality. Senators plan to begin debate on
that topic on Wednesday at 7 a.m. PDT, with votes on a number of amendments
expected.

The entire communications bill won't become law unless it receives final
approval by the committee and, later, the full Senate. It must also be
reconciled with a House of Representatives version that differs in many
respects, including its lack of broadcast or audio flag components. House
members scheduled a Tuesday afternoon hearing to explore the issue.

The flag provisions may have sailed through the Senate committee without
changes for now, but New Hampshire Republican John Sununu said he was
strongly considering offering an amendment when the bill moves to the floor.
(No recorded vote took place in the committee.)

"I have concerns about the flag language because it is a technology mandate
and because the technology mandate may actually discourage innovation and
discourage different products from coming into the market," he said.

Backed by the entertainment industry, the audio and video flags are aimed at
staving off piracy. The Federal Communications Commission attempted to
respond to Hollywood's concerns in November 2003 by writing rules that would
render it illegal to "sell or distribute" any digital TV product that's
unable to quell redistribution of video clips made from recorded
over-the-air broadcasts, particularly over the Internet.

But last spring, a federal court yanked down the flag after concluding that
the FCC didn't have the authority to make such rules.

The court's ruling came in response to a suit filed by a coalition of
librarians and public interest groups. They argued that the FCC's rules
would hinder the ability of librarians and consumers to make "fair use" of
copyright works and would hamper interoperability between devices.

Such a plan "injects government into technological design, restricts lawful
consumer activities and increases consumer costs by making obsolete millions
of digital devices," Gigi Sohn, president of the advocacy group Public
Knowledge, said in a statement for Tuesday's House hearing.

Recording Industry Association of America CEO Mitch Bainwol said in a
statement for the House committee meeting that his industry wants new
content-protection rules targeting portable digital-radio devices that allow
users to save songs to playlists and replay them later. He also wants a
requirement that digital radio companies pay extra licensing fees for
"distribution" of their content--in addition to those they pay for airing
it--if they effectively allow users to download songs, he said.

Without those rules, Bainwol said, it's "tantamount to saying that if
someone buys a ticket to watch a movie in a theater, he's entitled to take a
DVD of the movie home with him afterwards."


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