FC&WMC?

Earlier this week, oral arguments were heard by a federal appeals court on a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast flag regulations. The idea is to require the makers of digital receivers to build their devices to respond to a "flag" contained in digital content and prevent unauthorized copying.

The court, however, seemed unconvinced that the FCC has statutory authority to make such demands—their mandate is to push ABC around, not Sony—prompting Judge Harry Edwards to ask: "Are washing machines next?" Don't give them ideas, yeronner, this is post-reductio America, after all.

Comments

[sage]

HEY! You can't make it legal to have sex with dogs. People will end up having sex with dogs!

[rob]

Ok, this isn't broadcast flag related, but isn't Robert Ringer's (ca. 1980) classic "reductio" argument about market forces and black markets specifically and entirely about about a ban on smoking?

[Jon H]

"The court, however, seemed unconvinced that the FCC has statutory authority to make such demands?their mandate is to push ABC around, not Sony"

Not exactly true -- the FCC does have some jurisdiction over electronics makers, because electronic devices can cause RF interference.

So electronics have to meet certain regulations as to how much interference they can produce, in order to earn a certain classification. Some classes are for commercial or industrial use, some (with less interference) are for residential use.

Not sure how this would enable the FCC to do the broadcast flag, tho.