New Salvos In MPAA FCC Fight

Electronics makers and public interest groups are intensifying their opposition to a request from the Motion Picture Association of America for a waiver from an Federal Communications Commission ban on using technology to shut off streams of on-demand-movies to cable set-top boxes deemed as insecure. In a post Thursday on the Huffington Post, Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro argued that the MPAA is not really trying to combat piracy but to gain "control of your TV" by asking to use "selectable output control" (SOC) technology. "If the FCC grants Hollywood the power to turn off analog inputs soon they will return asking for permission to unilaterally disable other features and functions," Shapiro wrote.