U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards told the Federal Communications
> Commission it "crossed the line" requiring the new anti-piracy
> technology in next-generation television devices. But another appeals
> judge on the panel questioned whether consumers can challenge the
> FCC's rules in the courtroom.
> Edwards, the former chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
> for the District of Columbia, questioned the FCC's authority to impose
> regulations affecting television broadcasts after such programs are
> beamed into households.
> The FCC's lawyer, Jacob Lewis, acknowledged the agency never had
> exercised such ancillary power but maintained it was permitted by
> Congress since lawmakers didn't explicitly outlaw it.
> "Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world," Edwards said. He
> said the FCC "crossed the line" beyond its authority approved by
> Congress. "You've gone too far," he said. "Are washing machines
> next?"
Don't read too much into the remarks of judges at oral argument, especially Edwards. He loves to bait lawyers, tell them they've got a loser argument, crossed the line, gone too far, etc., and then he signs onto a decision that goes along with that argument. It's happened more times than I can count.
Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD, USA Replace "example.invalid" with ".com".