MPAA's Fried Blasts EFF's Set-Top FOIA As Attempt to 'Fabricate Drama'

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Freedom of Information Act request and accompanying blog post (see 1610260060) are an attempt to “fabricate drama,” said MPAA Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Neil Fried in his blog post Thursday. EFF said the Copyright Office met with programmers and content interests and didn't do enough to seek out all sides on the FCC set-top box proposal before deciding it violated copyright law. “The bottom line is that the Copyright Office did not approach stakeholders, selectively or otherwise,” Fried said. “It spoke with any and all comers who asked for the opportunity. It then examined the issues and met its statutory obligation to advise federal agencies and Congress on the law. Any EFF suggestion to the contrary is entirely false.” The CO “studiously avoided being brought into the debate” until it was asked by the FCC and Congress to weigh in, Fried said. “EFF’s great 'revelation' is that the Copyright Office did its job, responding to inquiries from various groups -- including technology companies, labor unions, copyright owners, the FCC and Congress,” he said. “Like anyone else, the EFF could have just as easily made its own inquiries, rather than issue a hyperbolic blog complaining about the entirely legitimate practice of a government agency communicating with a range of parties.”