FCC Adopts Broadcast Flag

[Gregg Lengling]

Late Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission adopted anti-piracy measures, known as the broadcast flag, for digital broadcast TV.

In a statement, the FCC said a consumer's ability to make digital copies of programming will not be affected by the rules, since the broadcast flag will only prevent mass distribution of content over the Internet. The commission said implementation of the broadcast flag also will not require consumers to purchase new consumer electronics or other equipment.

The rules are targeted only at products capable of receiving DTV signals via over-the-air broadcasts. Other products - such as digital VCRs, DVD players and personal computers that don't have digital tuners - are not required to comply with the new rules. The FCC stressed that existing TVs, VCRs, DVD players and related equipment will remain functional under the broadcast flag system.

Said FCC Chairman Michael Powell, "The commission's adoption of the broadcast flag represents another important step in the digital television transition." The decision, he said, "strikes a careful balance between content protection and technology innovation in order to promote consumer interests."

Commissioners generally approved of the rules. But the FCC's two Democrats - Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein - dissented with part of the broadcast flag scheme. "I do not believe we have fully achieved our goal of creating an effective and appropriately tailored pro-consumer digital broadcast television protection regime," Adelstein said.