Green, Latta Accuse DSTAC of Deviating From STELAR Statute

Two House members accused the FCC Downloadable Security Technical Advisory Committee (DSTAC) of deviating from the statute in the satellite TV law that created it. Reps. Gene Green, D-Texas, and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, outlined concerns to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a letter Thursday. “Some group participants and directives issued by your staff, unfortunately, are ignoring the qualifying statutory language regarding downloadable security in order to resurrect a previously discredited proposal referred to as AllVid,” the lawmakers wrote. “These proposals and staff directives go well beyond security issues, and in fact, seek to force providers to dismantle their video services and content for others’ commercial exploitation, harming the video marketplace and interfering with contracts and copyright law in the process.” The lawmakers dismissed this development as “an enormous distraction” and beyond statute. If the FCC allows such deviation from statute, that “would raise questions about your willingness to follow Congressional mandates,” they said. Green and Latta are the lawmakers responsible for the stand-alone legislation that ended the set-top box integration ban, eventually passed into law as part of Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization and considered a key lobbying priority for the cable industry. The commission declined to comment, as did Cheryl Tritt, who chairs the FCC committee. “The limited scope of DSTAC and it’s [sic] purpose is clear, and the language that defines it has been agreed upon in both the House and the Senate unanimously," Latta said in a statement.