Now add the Power of Precedent and we have real issues. When I was discussing the flag with staffers in the waning hours of the flag debate, concerns about the appropriate level of protection for DTV were greeted with the response: "well we just put these kinds of restrictions on cable in the Plug-N-Play rulemaking, so how can we justify not doing it for DTV broadcast?" Similarly, the flag sets a troubling precedent for instrusive regulation of the architecture of devices. Even if the MPAA were right and it could be justified in this particular setting, there is no acknowledgement in the FCC's order of the unusual step being taken, and no sense that this is a limited step that is not supposed to set a broader precedent about FCC authority. Absent that commitment, consumers and users are right to be concerned about the broader impact on the future of computers and other devices. Susan, this blog is great! Keep up the good work.