In addition to these measures, House Energy and Commerce Chairman "Billy" Tauzin circulated a draft measure in September 2002 that would have mandated a "broadcast flag" standard for digital television. The proposal was prompted by frustration over the deadlock in private sector negotiations between Hollywood and consumer electronics interests on appropriate technological measures for protecting digital broadcast content. The FCC has indicated that it might seek to impose such a standard by regulation, but electronics manufacturers have already publicly questioned the Commission's legal authority to take such a step and have vowed to sue to prevent its
implementation.

Interest Group Maneuvers

There have been several recent developments of note concerning major interest groups active in the copyright debate. They include:

* On January 14, 2003 the RIAA, Business Software Alliance (BSA), and omputer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) announced that they had jointly adopted seven principles for resolving digital content issues. These include opposition to legislation that would limit the effectiveness or use of digital rights management (DRM) technologies; tougher copyright law enforcement; support for voluntary technical measures to limit illegal distribution combined with opposition to government technology mandates; and support for technical "self-help" measures against P2P networks so long as they are reasonable, not destructive to networks or individual computers, and respectful of privacy and other legal rights. Since the announcement, the RIAA has interpreted the Boucher bill to be in violation of these principles, but the CSPP declined to make judgment on that issue. Other technology groups such as the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) continue to support the Boucher bill, while the MPAA reasserted its support for technology mandates such as the Hollings bill or FCC regulation mandating a broadcast flag.

* On January 23, 2003 a new organization, the Alliance for Digital Progress (ADP), announced its formation to oppose the Hollings bill. The group, headed
by a former senior aide in the Reagan and first Bush administrations, includes the American Electronics Association (AEA), BSA, Digital Media Association (DiMA), Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) as members, along with individual technology companies and several conservative think tanks and public interest organizations.

* On February 12, 2003 technology companies and the MPAA held the first meeting of the Analog Reconversion Discussion Group (ARDG), an offshoot of the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG) that set standards for the DVD. The aim of the group is to discuss technologies that could prevent the re-digitization of content captured through an electronic device's analog output. While the participating technology groups have agreed to address Hollywood's priority goal of closing the "analog hole", they are opposed to using digital watermarks as a solution and are leery that any agreement reached by ARDG could become the basis for a government technology mandate.

* The CEA and National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) recently reached agreement on technology that would permit "plug and play" compatibility between digital TVs and cable systems. CEA announced that, if the FCC were to adopt the agreement, it would consider dropping its lawsuit challenging the agency's mandate that all TVs contain digital tuners by 2007 (because the plug and play equipment could function as such a tuner for a small additional cost). However, the two largest direct-broadcast satellite companies - EchoStar and DirectTV - are expected to oppose FCC adoption because the deal includes a ban on selectable output controls that allow content providers to remotely disable digital TV sets. Meanwhile, the MPAA has not yet taken a position on the deal.