[Musings] The broadcast flag
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-02-22-tv-piracy_x.htm
The whole fiasco surrounding HDTV, the FCC, and the broadcast flag will pretty much ensure that I do not go back to TV. People will remember that they have a choice and will choose other things and hopefully TV will change. I view this technology as useless, much like DVD region encoding. Someone will figure a way around it. If they are worried about piracy, perhaps broadcasters instead of getting their lacky gov't agencies to pass draconian laws, chill out and remember that the 'airwaves' are public domain. Want to regulate cable? Go ahead you can do it in the receiver (like with digital cable), people have to pay for that, but broadcasts on radio waves are open to all to access. Airwaves are public space. The FCC needs to go back and re-evaluate its charter:
(from http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history )
"So, while the formal charge of Congress to the FCC can be summed up in less than 30 words – ensure that the American people have available, at reasonable costs and without discrimination, rapid, efficient, Nation- and world-wide communication services; whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable – the day-to-day reality may be that there is no more ubiquitous presence in the lives of most Americans than the FCC-regulated communications industries."
The FCC has too much power and should be neutered. TV airwaves are public domain and beyond making sure that everyone plays nice in the sandbox, the FCC should have no power to create or enforce such edicts. Oh while I am on the subject, thank you FCC for also allowing giant media megacorporations to create monopolies in markets. Thanks. I like the fact that the same company now owns most of the media outlets I have access to.
Viva Indepent Film, Radio, Newspaper, and other forms of media!
(PS - Why do we keep up the charade of gov't regulation? Such as the EPA, FCC, SEC? They seem effectively powerless now. )
1 comment:
(PS - Why do we keep up the charade of gov't regulation? Such as the EPA, FCC, SEC? They seem effectively powerless now. )
You seem to be missing the point of the government. The US government exists, by in large, to protect CORPORATIONS from their consumers (i.e. Citizens). The US was practiacally founded with this philosopy in mind (we won't have a monarchy, and we won't have a democracy - that just leaves plutocracy and syndicates) Ideally, the government exists to protect citizens against the malicious will of the wealthy and of the institutions and organizations funded by the wealthy. In reality, the government is just a platorm for which (basically) legal bribery, graft, and venality allow these interests to subvert the rights of citizens (when was the last time anyone was referred to as a citizen?) in order to secure profit and stabilize such lopsided power through lobbying.
We persist with the 'charade' because if most people actually realized how badly they were being shanked, there would be bloody riots in the streets, and that isn't good for control, the status quo of power, and most of all, profit.
Luckily, the broadcast flag, like so many other attempts in the history of human governance, is likely to be an exercise in the true futility of monopolistic centralized control over human culture. The harder they squeeze their hands together, the faster the water runs out between the newfound cracks.
Personally, I think the almost silent debate on the true future of 'intellectual property', especially in regards to its longevity, is more interesting than the attempts by the 'content' industries to have complete control over the media. Who owns my culture? How many times can you extend copyright before it becomes 'forever' (see: Sonny Bono Act). Lawrence Lessig has had some interesting things to say about this.
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