Cellphones and other similar gadgets coming to US shores could soon be forced to come with an FM tuner.

The proposal is still being reviewed by radio broadcasters, recording artists, and record labels, and would still need Congressional approval to go into effect, but if passed, the it will in effect require all manufacturers wanting to peddle their wares in the US to include and FM radio feature.

According to Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association, the group behind the popular CES trade show Congress ought to reject “a back-room deal on how an iPhone should be designed.

“The backroom scheme of the [National Association of Broadcasters] and RIAA to have Congress mandate broadcast radios in portable devices, including mobile phones, is the height of absurdity,” says Shapiro. “Rather than adapt to the digital marketplace, NAB and RIAA act like buggy-whip industries that refuse to innovate and seek to impose penalties on those that do.”

He added that consumers should choose and companies should choose — not the Congress.

source Ars Technica