The National Cable & Telecommunications Association told the Federal Communications Commission that the cable industry says it was at the forefront of content-control technologies, and continues to improve them, an effort that will be aided by its migration to digital. NCTA's comments came in a proceeding that will result in an FCC report to Congress on the state of the V-chip/ratings system and other technologies. NCTA argued that it has made it easy to block shows using the ratings via program guides, and with a system sensitive enough to, say, block a TV-PG rated show with a violence warning, but not one with a language warning, if that is the customer's preference. Or, shows with a violence warning can all be blocked regardless of the rating. Some digital set-tops can also be programmed to skip channels, and even exclude them from the on-screen guide. NCTA also pointed out that cable operators--Comcast, Time Warner and Cox among them--have teamed with third parties to provide content controls, including "several cable operators [who] have relationships with Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that rates shows for age-appropriateness.
