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FCC Broadcast Flag Struck Down

Posted by Zonk on from the system-works-sometimes dept.

An anonymous reader writes "CNet is reporting that the courts have struck down the FCC's broadcast flag requirement! 'In a stunning victory for hardware makers and television buffs, a federal appeals court has tossed out government rules that would have outlawed many digital TV receivers and tuner cards starting July 1.'" The EFF has details on the flag, the official ruling is online for examination, and commentary is available from BoingBoing and Ars Technica.

3 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. What about the TV distribution pipeline by SiliconEntity · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wow, that's great news, but isn't it coming a little late in the timeline? If sets on sale in July were supposed to have BF support, you'd think that they would already be being manufactured that way. The TV makers would have had to already have designed BF circuitry into their sets and be producing them with that capability, if all the sets in the stores by July were supposed to work that way, as required by the law.

    I wonder if there will be a way to disable BF circuitry in sets which get sold that already have it built in? Or will the makers even tell people that they are buying sets that are BF enabled? Maybe some people will buy them without even knowing it.

  2. Re:Awesome! by awhelan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes, and in the name of protecting the artists, the whole process of the broadcast flag has cost our country millions or wasted dollars. There are all the hardware companies that... since it's May, must have already spent millions in R&D getting the flag working. Not to mention the people buying HDTV's early, or stocking up on un-DRM'd TV tuner cards before the July 1st deadline.

    I honestly believe the FCC stopped fighting for the broadcast flag because of all the negative publicity it would have caused. Anybody who knew what it is would just buy a tuner card early and not be affected by it. Everybody else would find out when they tried to record things and couldn't... making them furious. Overall this was a PR nightmare, and was only going to get worse.

  3. Sliding my donation over to the EFF by zulux · · Score: 4, Interesting



    No more donating to the ACLU for me - it's all EFF from now on.

    The ACLU was needed in the age of McCarthy, but the work of the EFF seems more beneficial to me right now - in the short as well as the long term.

    --

    Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.