[Home]
August 30, 2002

[News]
Felten: It's not about the flag

Prof. Edward Felten is a long-time proponent of free expression and was represented by EFF in the Felten v. RIAA case, protecting the right to publish scientific research.

Felten is writing a book on the freedom to tinker, and also maintains a news site at freedom-to-tinker.com with updates on tinkering and reverse engineering.

This week, Felten points out that the so-called "broadcast flag" controversy is not really about the broadcast flag, but about banning technology.

Technologists normally use the term "flag" to refer to a simple label that is attached to data to indicate some attribute of the data. A recipient of the data can use the flag as one factor in deciding what to do with the data, but most flags are strictly advisory and do not compel any action by the recipient. Such a flag is simple and nonrestrictive. Who could object to it?

Hollywood doesn't need to ask for a true broadcast flag. The standards for digital television broadcasting already have a place for such a flag. No government action is needed to allow Hollywood to use a flag to indicate the broadcast status of a program.

This simple issue of terminology is significant. Reporters frequently ask us whether we support or oppose the broadcast flag. Of course, we don't support or oppose the broadcast flag itself. What we oppose is making it a crime to produce certain kinds of general-purpose video technology.

Posted by Seth Schoen at 03:49 PM