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Senate Committee Passes TV Content-Blocking LegislationThe Senate Commerce Committee passed August 2 the Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007 (S. 602), which requires the Federal Communications Commission to assess new blocking technologies similar to the television V-chip for use in broadcast, pay TV, internet, and other media delivery systems. The bill would give the FCC approximately one year to review developing technologies and give to Congress recommendations to help parents navigate indecent or violent content, Reuters reported August 2. Introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the bill updates the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which required TV manufacturers to install V-chips that allowed parents to block content as flagged by a standardized rating system. The new bill is partly a response to the underutilization and limited effectiveness of this technology, Multichannel News reported August 2. “It’s an uphill battle for parents trying to protect their kids from viewing inappropriate programming. I believe there is a whole new generation of technology that can provide an additional layer of help for these parents,” Pryor said in an August 2 press release. “My bill simply lights a fire under the FCC to take a fresh look at new options in the marketplace.” One day earlier, Adam Thierer, director of the Progress and Freedom Foundation’s Center for Digital Freedom, released a paper in which he asserts that Congress need not ask the FCC to require the use of already existing tools, and that the practice of asking the FCC to approve technologies will slow down new technological development. “In an attempt to empower parents, it is important that Congress not empower regulators instead,” Thierer wrote. “S. 602 opens the door to an expansion of the FCC’s authority over media content on multiple platforms and threatens to undermine private, voluntary rating systems in the process.” Posted on August 10, 2007. |
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