House Democrat Outlines Questions on Set-top NPRM

Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., has “heard from a number of stakeholders who have voiced concerns” about the FCC set-top box rulemaking, he told Chairman Tom Wheeler in a letter dated Tuesday. “The navigation device rule could open the door for third parties to monitor and market private data on customers’ viewing habits, perhaps even without their knowledge or consent,” Lipinski said. “Assuring the protection of the content and the viewers’ information should also require strong universal standards against cyber intrusion, which may now only apply to the distribution providers.” He also cited concerns about programming choice and the contract relationship between content providers and programming. He asked the agency to let him “know what the FCC has done and will do to promote the protection of consumer data from unwanted sale or theft, assure equitable protections from cyber intrusion and copyright theft, and to preserve the diversity of options from content creators.” The FCC has defended the proposal and suggested the NPRM won't cause such problems for consumers.