The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has entered the fray of the digital copyright debate, setting an Oct. 30 deadline for public comments on a new technology that would prohibit consumers—including educators—from making copies of digitally broadcast television programs.

At stake is whether or not content owners and device manufacturers should be allowed to equip their products with a new copyright-protection measure known as a "broadcast flag," which would eliminate the free reign owners of DVD players and other digital recording devices have to make copies of programs broadcast on TV.

A "broadcast flag," essentially, would be an electronic marking or signal sent out by digital television content and picked up by newly equipped televisions or digital recorders, prohibiting the machines from copying certain programs. The issue presents a special problem for educators, many of whom record news and media content at home for redistribution in the classroom.

The proposal is part of the Consumer Broadband Digital Television Promotion Act (S. 2048). Sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., the bill is meant to encourage media companies—disheartened by a nationwide increase in movie and music piracy—to continue developing emerging media technologies, including the eventual rollout of digital television across the nation.

The bill's opponents argue that, while it is important to protect the rights of intellectual property owners, the new "broadcast flag" is too extreme a solution. They say the measure would limit how content can be used for important education-related purposes and would anger consumers.

"Consumers have interests in protecting copyrights for digital television so that high-quality content will be available. They also have an interest in protecting their own reasonable expectations about personal use of programming and in the future health and growth of the internet," said Jerry Berman, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, in a statement. "The 'broadcast flag' raises many unsettled policy questions, and it is fair for consumers to ask that those questions be addressed before regulations are made."

To meet these concerns, the FCC last month began soliciting comments from the public in a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making on its web site.

Some questions the agency is asking consumers include:

• Are there any First Amendment rights that would be affected as a result of the proposed broadcast flagging system?
• Will the technology allow consumers—especially educators—to exercise the same fair-use exceptions to copyright laws they have come to expect in the past?
• Will broadcast flagging have a downstream impact on the growth and emergence of other technologies, including the internet?
• Will the legislation open the door for broader government involvement in setting standards?
• Do consumers fear it will be impossible for them to make secure copies for educational and home use under a flagging system?
• Are broadcast flags likely to drive up the price of equipment to unaffordable levels?
• Do the benefits of such a proposal outweigh the costs to the consumer market?

• What is the true extent to which high-quality digital programming is being withheld from the public for fear of piracy?
• What are the technical impediments to implementing a broadcast flagging system on existing consumer electronics devices?
• If the FCC refuses to accept broadcast flagging, how will that affect the industry's position on the implementation of digital TV nationally?
• Is the flagging technology efficient, and will it have the capability to be upgraded or changed easily over time?
• Should the FCC impose regulations that require makers of consumer electronics devices to begin installing the technology, or is there a better, more efficient type of marking system that should be used instead?