House committee leaders recently called on the FCC to release the full text of the agency’s proposal to make set-top boxes for cable, as well as the accompanying rental fees, optional for consumers.
The FCC proposal would require pay-TV providers to offer a free app that would enable customers to access programming through devices like tablets, phones, gaming consoles, smart TVs and streaming devices — effectively making set-top boxes optional, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler explained in a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) called on Wheeler to release the full text of the set-top box proposal in a recent letter.
“While much remains unknown, what is clear at this point is that the proposal would benefit from public process,” the lawmakers wrote “Absent a public vetting of the commission’s proposal, it is unclear what the commission is planning, let alone its impact. Without further delay, we request that you release the text of your proposal. The proposal raises issues of significance to both our committees, and we believe the commission should release text in order to allow all stakeholders to meaningfully discuss the implications of the proposal.”
Upton and Walden added that Wheeler’s op-ed and a fact sheet released on the proposal raised new questions rather than resolving questions posed in the notice of proposed rulemaking.
“Unfortunately, this behavior is not new and this aversion to transparency has come to define the FCC,” Upton and Walden said.
Goodlatte and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) added that they had “serious concerns” and that steps outlined in Wheeler’s op-ed should not be taken without a compulsory copyright licensing process that exceeds FCC jurisdiction.
“There are many unresolved questions about this proposal, not the least of which is the fundamental question of whether the FCC even has the authority to create such a regime,” Conyer and Goodlatte added. “We are also concerned that this proposal encroaches upon the Judiciary Committee’s copyright jurisdiction, and may not adequately protect creators’ rights and the contractual rights of parties. We will be conducting oversight over this matter in the weeks and months to come.”
U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) said that he was “very concerned” with how the FCC’s proposal would impact copyright protections and privately negotiated licenses.
“The FCC is proposing a massive new bureaucratic intrusion that threatens innovation, mobile viewing and exposes every consumer’s viewing habits to data mining,” Long said. “The FCC should promote a competitive environment for set top boxes, but I strongly disagree with their approach. The FCC should be seeking to build a consensus that is consumer driven and not one where the government micro manages copyright negotiations. We need an initiative that looks through the windshield at technology, not the rearview mirror.”
Long also cited concerns about the burden of regulatory compliance for multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD) that would have to design an app for multiple devices.
“This requirement will require a huge amount of time, engineering and cost for MVPDs to meet, especially when considering there was a simple, efficient cost effective alternative put forward by the industry; namely building apps for an open standard HTML5 platform,” Long said. “Instead they now have to customize apps with functionality that they may not even have developed. This is a huge burden, is unnecessary and will only serve to stifle innovation in the app market.”