The cable-backed "app-based approach" to getting your programs is an alternative to what some federal regulators want instead: A system that forces cable companies to hand over all their programming so that any other company — including, perhaps, Amazon — could build and sell their own set-top boxes straight to consumers. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.)

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Proponents of the Federal Communications Commission's plan say letting other firms build competing set-top boxes would give consumers more choices than just what they can rent from their cable providers, and would lead to a range of new user interfaces for TV viewers to choose from. Critics say requiring companies such as Comcast to make their TV content freely available to any other box maker poses copyright risks, raising the possibility of theft by content pirates.

Both the FCC approach and the cable industry proposal could reduce the cost of renting set-top boxes — in some cases, by potentially eliminating the need for them altogether. But Amazon's critique of the industry, disclosed in a regulatory filing, claims that the app-based approach has nothing to say about copy protection. As a result, the industry plan "does not in fact address the security concerns [cable companies] have identified" as a main reason to oppose the FCC's plan.

In a statement, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association said Wednesday that apps based on HTML5 technology do provide enough security for TV content. A recent FCC report, it said, contains "extensive discussion of exactly how HTML5 secures" TV content, "including support for hardware roots of trust."

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