House Lawmakers Prep More Letters to FCC on Set-top Concerns

Several House lawmakers of both parties pressed or are poised to press the FCC on Chairman Tom Wheeler’s set-top box NPRM. Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., sent a joint letter Friday to “express concern that the proposal could lead to an expansion in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works” and said content creators have “shared concerns” that under the NPRM, “future set-top boxes or their replacements could purposely be designed to distribute pirated content obtained from sources that primarily offer stolen content,” Goodlatte and Conyers said. “Creators are legitimately worried about the prospect that future set top boxes, or their functional equivalents, could incorporate apps such as Popcorn Time or its functionality, or otherwise lead to the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works.” They will stay “watchful,” they told the FCC, also citing attention to any proposed rules for smaller or rural providers. Three Democrats -- Reps. Tony Cardenas of California, Adam Schiff of California and Gene Green of Texas -- are also preparing a letter on similar copyright concerns. They circulated a letter to colleagues Friday saying “you may have seen or heard suggestions that the content industry is supportive of the FCC’s proposed rule.” Wheeler defended the NPRM to the Democratic caucus Wednesday in a way that Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., told us was one-sided (see 1604280071). “To the contrary, there are substantial concerns on the part of the content industry, including television, film, and music, regarding the impact of the proposed rule on copyright protections, existing licensing agreements, and the rights of content creators,” Cardenas, Green and Schiff told their colleagues. “These concerns are shared across the spectrum, including large studios and record labels, unions, and small and minority owned producers and broadcasters.” They're gathering signatures for a letter to the FCC saying it’s “essential for independent, peer-reviewed studies to be completed of current developments towards market-based solutions and of the potential costs and benefits of the proposed rules, including the impact of the proposed rules on diversity of programming, independent and minority television programming, content protection and consumer privacy,” the current draft said. The Democratic letter would tell the FCC to suspend further action until after those studies and congressional review. Another critical bipartisan letter in the works from Reps. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Bob Latta, R-Ohio, Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Collin Peterson, D-Minn., (see 1604270063) is up to 54 co-signers, Cramer aide Adam Jorde told us Monday. The deadline for signing was originally Friday, but it was extended until the end of Tuesday, Jorde said.