March 15, 2007
A broadcast flag for Europe?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has blown the whistle on what it says is a sinister plot by Hollywood studios to take control of digital televison in Europe.
According to the EFF, new product standards being developed by the Digital Video Broadcasting project would limit customers’ ability to record and store digitally broadcast films and television shows by introducing strict digital rights management into the next generation of IP TV devices.
The DVB’s digital video standards are most prevalent in Europe, but they are also used in India, Latin America and other countries around the world.
The EFF says the DVB’s co-called Content Protection and Copy Management standards would do little to stop piracy, but would impose severe restrictions on customers’ ability to decide when, where and how to view the content that streams into their homes.
According to the EFF report:
Hollywood bills the intent of CPCM as "protect[ing]" and "enab[ling] business models," but, more precisely, they want to be able to curtail personal uses of television content that may disrupt their current business models. They also want to make you pay again and again to make legitimate uses of lawfully-acquired digital television content. For example, you’ve already paid for your cable subscription, but instead of being able to "time-shift" your favorite show to watch it later on the device of your choice, content providers want the power to force you to buy that show again on DVD or through another delivery mechanism.
Ren Buchholz, an EFF policy coordinator, says the push to introduce these new restrictions could spark a fight in Europe similar to the fight in the US over the broadcast flag, a similar system designed to allow broadcasters greater control over what devices can do with their content.
In 2005, a federal appeals court struck down a Federal Communications Commission rule that would have required device makers to design their devices to work with the broadcast flag.
The this latest chapter suggests that the battle over DRM is far from over.
