Titan Backs "Broadcast Flag," But…

Titan Media, currently involved in a number of actions against online infringement of its copyrighted material, says it supports the so-called "broadcast flag" to protect television content from piracy but not for tracking viewers' watching habits.

"As digital technology moves forward providing direct to consumer transmission the need to control piracy is of the utmost importance to all intellectual property owners," Titan attorney Gil Sperlein told AVN.com, answering an e-mail query. "While we wholeheartedly support the use of broadcast flags to aid in the control of piracy we in no way support the use of the same technology to monitor or track the viewing behaviors of individual users."

Titan has been battling against SBC Communications, asking SBC to reveal 59 subscribers Titan suspects of swapping its gay adult videos online in violation of Titan copyrights. The company has done likewise with other Internet service providers who always cooperated with them, especially since, Titan has maintained, the company had no intention of revealing the subscribers but simply getting them to stop swapping materials they didn't have permission to swap. 

And privacy is a prime concern for Titan in otherwise backing the "broadcast flag" concept. "(We support) legislation permitting the use of broadcast flags for protection of content and to control piracy," Sperlein said, "while at the same time ensuring and protecting the rights of privacy of the individual viewers."

The Federal Communications Commission had announced November 4 that the makers of digital television receivers will be required to include broadcast flag recognition technology in their sets by July 1, 2005. The movie and television industries have been pushing for the technology as a way to tighten up online piracy prevention.

“The FCC scored a big victory for consumers and the preservation of high value over-the-air free broadcasting with its decision on the Broadcast Flag," said Motion Picture Association of America president Jack Valenti in a statement after the FCC ruling. "This puts digital TV on the same level playing field as cable and satellite delivery. All the way around, the consumer wins, and free TV stays alive.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, however, isn't that sure the consumer wins. Senior intellectual property attorney Fred von Lohmann said in his own statement that the FCC ruling means a step the wrong way, a step toward undermining rather than enhancing innovation, fair use, and competition.

And EFF staff technologist Seth Schoen said the broadcast flag mandate means manufacturers will have to remove "useful recording features" from television devices now for sale. "The FCC has decided that the way to get Americans to adopt digital TV is to make it cost more and do less," Schoen said.