The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday opted to delay voting on a proposal that would allow tech companies to participate in the market for cable boxes.
“We have made tremendous progress and we share the goal of creating a more innovative and inexpensive market for these consumer devices,” said a statement issued by Democratic commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel, Mignon Clyburn and Chairman Tom Wheeler.
“We are still working to resolve the remaining technical and legal issues and we are committed to unlocking the set-top box for consumers across this country,” commissioners added.
The proposal, which would require cable operators to provide their content on devices offered by companies like Apple or Amazon, has been criticized by the commission’s two Republicans and congressional lawmakers of both parties for failing to include sufficient privacy protections.
While the proposal would enable consumers to escape an annual average of more than $200 in cable-box fees, critics have expressed concern tech companies could offer the same service at a substantially reduced price by surreptitiously siphoning personal consumer data.
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“I am concerned that your proposal does not contain mechanisms to ensure that third-party set-top box providers will be required to adequately protect programming content or consumer privacy,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote in a June letter to the commission.
The U.S. Copyright Office and the proposal’s own Democratic author, Rosenworcel, expressed additional concerns about the potential for copyright violations stemming from the commission’s lack of authority to oversee agreements made between broadcast providers and device manufacturers.
It is unclear whether commissioners will have an opportunity to reintroduce the proposal, which had enjoyed the support of President Obama, before a new administration takes office in January.
