FCC Set-Top Plan Would Give Google 'Unfettered Access,' Says Oracle

The FCC set-top box draft order would allow companies like Google “unfettered access" to pay-TV information and could lead to consequences for consumer privacy, said Oracle Senior Vice President Kenneth Glueck in a letter posted Monday in docket 16-42. The proposal would replace multichannel video programming distributor gatekeepers with a “global hungry, market dominant, Google, largely outside FCC authority." Google is “the clear winner” from the proposal if it increases that company's access to consumer data while carriers have to abide by further regulations, Oracle said. The FCC shouldn’t require cross platform search only of pay-TV carriers, the software maker said. Google’s Android operating system ties developers into a proprietary application program interface and shouldn’t be designated a widely available platform, Oracle said. Google didn't comment.