Copyright meets digitization. Ever since equipment for home recording of radio programs was introduced in the early 1930s, it has been possible to make unauthorized copies of copyrighted works. As long as the technology for doing so was analog, the risk to copyright holders was minimal--a single copy was not as good as the original, and two or three generations later, the quality had deteriorated to the point where the discriminating listener would be seriously offended. No one really worried that the market for copyrighted works would be badly eroded. But digital recording--coupled with the Internet--changed all that. It is now possible to create perfect copies on computers found in most Americans' homes, and the Internet makes it easy to send them all over the world. >>

The broadcast flag is a series of bits sent along with a digital television program identifying it as copyrighted content that may only be manipulated or redistributed in limited ways.

Content owners say that it is necessary to prevent unauthorized mass redistribution of copyrighted works. As is typical with DRM issues, this stance is opposed by consumer groups and the electronics industry.

In late 2003, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that all TV tuners sold starting July 1, 2005 would have to incorporate technology to restrict copying. However, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Commission did not have the authority to require the flag because their jurisdiction is limited to communications, and the broadcast flag controls what can be done with a signal after it is broadcast. Subsequently, content owners began to ask Congress to require the flag. Should Congress do so? Consider these issues and offer an opinion.

• The electronics industry is evidently reluctant to incorporate the broadcast flag into all new products, because consumers prefer devices that can do more. Which, if any, of the uses that would be prohibited under the broadcast flag, are legal and ethical?
• Would the broadcast flag prevent "time-shifting"--recording a program and watching it later?
• Content owners say that consumers would benefit if the broadcast flag is adopted. What is their rationale for saying this?
• Suppose the broadcast flag is not adopted; then how much content will be kept off of digital TV? From what you've read, do you think this will be an important loss?
• Is piracy of digital content a major revenue problem for content producers today? If the broadcast flag is not adopted, will piracy become a greater problem?
• Another objection against the broadcast flag is that it would prevent HDTV from being used in distance education. Is this necessarily true, and if so, how serious would the loss be?
• Another claim is that legislating the broadcast flag would make open-source device drivers illegal. Is this necessarily true, and if so, how serious would the loss be? >>