The FCC is expected to rule soon on the "Broadcast Flag" proposal, which would require all digital television-compatible devices (including televisions, tuners and multimedia computers) to include technology that would restrict uses of digital programming received over the air.
NY Times: Critics Press Case on TV Privacy Rules
Federal regulators plan as soon as this week to adopt rules meant to keep people from copying digital broadcasts of television shows and movies and distributing them on the Internet, government officials and industry lobbyists say.
Salon: Hollywood to the computer industry: We don't need no stinking Napsters!
Fearful of piracy, the studios want the federal government to legislate how computers are made. Critics say such interference signals the end of the line for digital innovation.
Wired News: A Case of Piracy Overkill?
Critics of proposed Federal Communications Commission rules designed to prevent consumers from redistributing copies of digital television shows on the Internet say the move won't stop piracy but will curtail technological innovation and the "fair use" of content.
Reuters: Feds to Fight Digital TV Piracy
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