FCC Can't Say if TV Content Ratings Are Accurate

The Federal Communications Commission completed a three-month, Congressionally-mandated report by the FCC's Media Bureau looking into the television content rating system. Congress had asked the FCC to address "the accuracy of the television content rating system, known as the TV Parental Guidelines, and the ability of the governing body for TV ratings, the TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board (Board or TVOMB), to oversee the rating system and address public concerns about it." The FCC's conclusion was that the TVOMB has not been sufficiently accessible or transparent, but there is not enough evidence to conclude the ratings are inaccurate because the FCC did not have enough time to make that determination and meet its congressional deadline (It had 90 days to meet that deadline). The FCC did note that virtually all the commenters were dissatisfied with "some aspect of the TV Parental Guidelines, the oversight of the television ratings, and/or the content of television programming," while the industry asserts that the system is effective, with "meaningful oversight."