The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet today held a hearing entitled, Digital Future of the United States: Part V: The Future of Video, exploring the changing landscape for digital television and related technologies. The hearing included testimony from a variety of CE manufacturers and new media service providers, including Sling Media, Google and TiVO, and set the stage for a discussion on ensuring Fair Use protections in the digital age.
In response to the hearing, Consumer Electronics Association Senior Vice President Michael Petricone issued the following statement:
"Today was a good day for those concerned about the future of U.S. competitiveness. Continued innovation depends on the restoration of consumer fair use rights, the preservation of the Supreme Court's Betamax doctrine, and legitimate opportunities for innovators without the prospect of losing their companies via excessive and unfair damage awards. CEA endorses legislation such as H.R. 1201, the Fair Use Act, which will help ensure that technology and innovation will continue to drive the American economy."
The association has gone further in recent weeks to urge Congress to focus on consumer choice and removing barriers to investment, such as ensuring consumers have the widest possible choice of commercially available set-top boxes, and pushing against further DRM restrictions on digital content.
"Today's digital consumer is increasingly receiving voice, video and date service from a variety of service providers," Petricone says. "It is essential that no service provider be allowed to exercise absolute control over innovative devices at the edge of the network. Provided that the device does not harm the network, manufacturers must have the freedom to build new devices and consumers must have the freedom to attach them to the network of their choice."
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