The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is advising regulators not to pass rules that would allow tech giants like Google to hijack video programming on television stations like HBO.
“I support the goal of greater competition and innovation in the marketplace for how consumers are able to access and watch video programming,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a Monday letter to the Federal Communications Commission. “However, I am concerned that this proposed rulemaking would replace marketplace solutions with greater government regulation.”
“Further, there are significant concerns as to how the FCC’s proposal affects important consumer privacy and copyright interests,” Grassley added.
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The FCC is considering new rules for “set-top-boxes” that would force cable companies like Comcast to make content available to anyone who produces a cable box. Companies like Google have been salivating over the prospect, eyeing the reams of personal consumer data that they could harvest from the boxes.
Democrats on the commission argue that the move represents a needed step forward. Cable companies currently generate a sizable share of revenue by leasing the boxes to consumers and through programming deals with networks.
“There are concerns that the proposed regulations will harm creators and impede innovation thereby ultimately hurting viewers,” Grassley wrote. “Achieving greater competition in the set-top box marketplace is a valid goal but it must not come at the expense of important consumer protections, market-based competition or America’s creators and innovators.”
It is the third congressional letter on the topic in two weeks. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, sent a letter last week urging the FCC against adopting new rules, while Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sent a letter demanding to know whether the White House had provided surreptitious input on the proposal.
