A federal appeals panel has challenged new Federal Communication Commission rules mandating certain video devices to include the so-called broadcast flag—technology aimed at blocking digital television copying for Internet distribution.
The former chief judge of the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Harry T. Edwards, has told the FCC the commission crossed the line requiring the technology in next-generation television devices. And fellow circuit judge David Sentelle said it isn’t the FCC’s problem if entertainment companies couldn’t or wouldn’t broadcast unprotected programming.
"It's going to have less content if it's not protected,” Sentelle was quoted as telling the FCC, “but Congress didn't direct that you have to maximize content. You can't regulate washing machines. You can't rule the world."
A number of consumer groups and library associations have also challenged the broadcast flag requirement because the flag could end up inflating the cost of digital television devices and stop consumers from recording programs lawfully for things like educational or teaching purposes, according to one published report.
The FCC maintains it can make rules affecting television broadcasts after the programs reach households, because Congress did not specifically bar the agency from doing so, but Edwards said of such “ancillary” power that it “does not mean you get to rule the world.”
