Today Rep Cliff Stearns is holding hearings called “Digital Content and Enabling Technology: Satisfying the 21st Century Consumer”. The witness list includes executives from Tivo, Sling Media, and the Hollywood Cartels that want to shut them down.

The hearings start at 1:00PM EST and will be broadcast live on via the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection’s website.

If your Representative is on the committee, make sure to tune in and see where they stand on these important issues.

IPac will be bringing you updates throughout the hearings so those who can’t watch the stream will have the latest.

1:28 PM update:

The opening statements are over. It's pretty obvious that Mike Ferguson doesn't get it. Ferguson said that fair use rights and loosening content protection are bad for consumers.

1:35 PM update:

Blake Krikorian, the CEO of Sling Media, is giving his opening remarks. His brilliant obvservation is that constraints mean that "only once a decade do American companies bring innovative technologies to market."

1:40 PM update:

John Feehery from the Hollywood Cartels just threatened to pull thousands of jobs from Member's districts if their anti-consumer innovation tax legislation like the Broadcast Flag and the analogue hole does not pass. I guess if suing your customers isn't enough, it's time to extort Congress.

2:03 PM update:

I've encoded John Feehery's opening statement and will upload soon.

2:15 PM update:

Rep. Furgeson is at it again. He came to the aid of John Feehery, who all but admitted that the MPAA does not believe a consumer has a right to make a backup copy of their legitimately purchased movies.

2:47 PM update:

The hearing is over. I'll have audio highlights up in a bit.

Listen to John Feehery's opening statement here. (MP3)