Tivo CEO on the Induce Act

Lasica Interviews TiVo CEO for Engadget Interview Series

Lasica: "Should the FCC be in the business of regulating new technologies like this one?"

Mike Ramsay: "Definitely not. It’s scary when you feel that you have to go to the FCC for permission to do something. So we’re not very comfortable with that. I think the broadcast flag stuff is less onerous than some other things, like the INDUCE Act. That we’re much more concerned with because that could lead to prosecution of individuals who induce copyright infringement. That just opens up a whole can of worms. If you upset consumers enough, they’ll become pirates, and that law has the potential to do that.

You’ll notice that everything on the table in Washington being pushed by the media companies doesn’t target regular television. It’s targeted at things like ripping DVDs, how long you can keep movies pay-per-view movies, and so on."