Broadcast flag: It's baaaaack!!

Our friends at the Recording Industry Association of America are circulating the following language for the Senate Commerce Committee to insert as it prepares to mark up a digital television bill beginning today. The language would cover satellite radio as well.

Proposed Legislative Provision Granting FCC Authority Regarding Terrestrial and Satellite Digital Audio Broadcasting

The Federal Communications Commission –

(a) has authority, for the purpose of implementing usage rules pursuant to paragraph (c), to require (i) that the in-band, on-channel technical standard for digital audio broadcast transmissions currently under consideration in MM Docket No. 99-235 include that transmissions be made through encryption or a similar technology, and (ii) that licensees operating Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services (“SDARS”) pursuant to Part 25 of the Commission rules, or any successor regulations, encrypt transmissions made as part of the SDARS service. In order to promote the availability of new, innovative and competitive devices, the Commission shall require as part of its regulations for IBOC radio systems that any and all technical specifications necessary to make devices capable of decrypting such signal, and any usage or rules that apply to the use of such signals, are fully disclosed sufficient to enable the manufacture of compliant devices and that all technologies necessary to make such compliant devices are licensed on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. The adoption of any digital audio regulations pursuant to this section shall not delay the adoption of final operational rules for digital audio broadcasting.

(b) may reconsider, amend, repeal, supplement, and otherwise modify, in whole or in part, any regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section in order to further the purposes of
this section, provided, however, that any change in such regulations shall incorporate encryption at the source or a similar technology as the means to achieve those purposes, and

(c) any usage rules adopted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section (i) shall permit recording of specific programs, channels or time periods as selected by the user in increments of no less than
thirty minutes duration; (ii) shall not permit recording based on information concerning specific sound recordings, artists, genres or other user preferences, (iii) shall not permit the automated
disaggregation of the copyrighted material contained in any recording of a transmission program, and (iv) shall not permit the exporting or redistribution of recorded material from the device by
digital outputs or removable media.

Thanks to Public Knowledge for sharing this would-be assault on the public's digital rights.