• by Wayne Friedman , May 7, 2010

A new rule from the Federal Communications Commission is allowing movie studios to electronically stop consumers from taping certain video-on-demand movies, according to a ruling approved on Friday.

The studios are trying to stop “re-use” of their movies which could hurt other film windows.

The commission restricted its use to either a 90-day period from the first activation of the blocking technology for any film, or until the movie’s release in a pre-recorded format like DVD or Blu-Ray, which ever comes first.

Could ABC block you from time shifting “Lost”? In theory, yes. And that’s what worries consumer advocacy groups who warn this could pave the way for widespread use of content owners to blocking viewing of a TV movie or TV show.