Appeals court throws out the FCC "Broadcast flag"

Today (May 6), the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Communication Commission exceeded its authority by issuing regulations that required digital television receivers to support a "broadcast flag" a digital field that controlled whether the transmitted content can be copied (i.e., copy-protection for digital broadcasts).

The court essentially held that the FCC's charter is to regulate broadcasting, not what is done with the data extracted from the broadcasted signal. Requiring digital receivers to act in a certain way in response to the data being sent is beyond the scope of its authority.

My take: big deal. My expectation is that Congress will amend the Communication Act to give the FCC the requisite authority, and the regulation will be re-issued.

The case is American Library Association, et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, No. 04-1037, (D.C. Cir. May 6, 2005), <http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/DC/041037B.pdf>. Received on Sat May 07 2005 - 00:55:15 GMT