Dear Friend of Digital Freedom,

The FCC is about to make a decision about whether third-party companies can market their own alternatives to the set-top boxes provided by cable companies. Under the proposed rules, instead of using the box from your cable provider, you could buy your own from a variety of different manufacturers.

Common sense, right? More set-top boxes on the market means higher quality options. Well, the proposal has brought the ire of cable companies and big movie and television studios. We need to cut through the noise and send a message to the FCC: consumers, not Hollywood, should drive the pay TV market.

This isn’t just about healthy competition. It’s about much more. It’s about how much control we give big content owners over our technology. It’s about whether media conglomerates can use copyright to hold our tech back.

Hollywood seems to think that copyright should let it control how, where, and when you watch TV, and what hardware you use to do it. That’s simply not how copyright works, nor should it be.

The clock is ticking on the FCC’s final decision, but this Thursday, the FCC commissioners will be testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee. Let’s use this opportunity to send the message loud and clear: copyright doesn’t let content companies unfairly control technology.

Tell the Senate Commerce Committee to stand up for innovation in the set-top box market.

Thank you,

Elliot Harmon
Activism Team
Electronic Frontier Foundation

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