High-Tech Measures Said Making Headway in Congress

The promise and perils of making digital content available online have drawn considerable attention from lawmakers, copyright holders and the high-tech industry, Boucher said. A D.C. Court of Appeals decision to invalidate the FCC’s broadcast flag rulemaking -- aimed at keeping over-the-air TV programming from unlicensed uploading to the Internet -- is a major issue on the 109th Congress’s plate. If broadcast flag “is done well, it will be a rare example of Congress imposing a technological mandate,” Boucher said, noting that Hollywood rarely comes to Washington to fight for a legislative solution.

As content sectors press their cases, horse trading may be needed -- particularly in the brawl with the high- tech sector, exemplified by MGM v. Grokster, Boucher said: “There are some things we want, too.” Recognizing that, no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the matter soon will reach Congress’s doorstep, Boucher introduced a bill to codify the high court’s Betamax decision. That ruling gave legal certainty to recording device manufacturers. The bill, which enjoys broad support, also would make sure the fair use doctrine on noninfringing use applies to digital media.

Telecom Act Needs Tweaking

The Internet rated only an oblique reference in the 1996 Telecom Act, but in the 21st century, “communications is now all about the Internet” and “the time has come for the federal government to have a clear statement of policy with regard to Internet regulation,” Boucher said. Consensus on Capitol Hill holds that such a statement should be “a true regulatory light touch -- a statue that declares ‘hands off’ with regard to Internet applications,” he said.

The Internet will be declared interstate, so the federal govt.’s jurisdiction trumps the states’, Boucher predicted. The FCC will be designated the sole federal agency with authority over the Web -- limited to E-911 and access for the disabled, law enforcement provisions under CALEA, and Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions, he added. USF remains necessary to provide affordable, low- cost phone service until broadband penetrates more deeply into homes and businesses, Boucher said.

Congress should adopt principles of network neutrality so platform owners can’t keep customers from particular websites, Boucher said. He cited a high- profile example in which a small phone firm that provides DSL blocked subscribers’ access to Vonage: “I have no doubt that unless a law prohibits this, it will become a more regular practice. The incentive is there to misbehave.”

DTV Subsidy Drives Debate

“The digital [TV] transition has not gone well,” Boucher told CCIA members, joking that a rural constituent of his would be found to own the last analog sets in America. Noting that 73 million analog sets depend on over-the-air broadcasts, he said: “It’s going to take forever for this transition to occur if the current law stays in place.”

The DTV transition will succeed only if Congress finds a way to subsidize converters for digital signals, Boucher said. Boucher wants the govt. to provide a full subsidy to ensure that traditional TV sets don’t become “boat anchors” whenever the deadline arrives. But lawmakers also must “make sure we don’t all lose our jobs when we vote for this bill.”

The end of 2007 or sometime in 2008 is “a fairly practical hard date,” and the consumer subsidy may not be full, but it will be substantial, Boucher said. He said he expects that debate to be resolved within a month, with House passage by late summer or early fall: “Before this year is out, we'll pass a hard date for surrendering analog spectrum.”