FCC Hacks Away at V-Chip

FCC HACKS AWAY AT VI-CHIP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The FCC thinks the V-chip isn't much help in preventing kids from seeing programs that may have dicey content. And in a filing to a federal court last week, FCC lawyers say that the Commission itself plays something of an in loco parentis (that's "in the place of a parent" for you fellow French students) role to help parents, even if parents won't help themselves. Broadcasters prefer the ratings system and descriptors -- L, V, etc. -- that can be used in conjunction with the V-chip, and they argue that their system is a less restrictive means of regulating content. “Less restrictive” is the measuring stick the FCC is required to employ when regulating broadcast speech. But if the broadcasters' argument flies, it could undercut the FCC's ability to regulate broadcast content, period. The FCC held its ground last week. It said the V-chip is ineffective and the ratings confusing. Beyond that, it said, the V-chip would not have helped during the programming in question because they were “misrated.” And more broadly, it argued, the chip is insufficiently understood by parents. The FCC said it has “independent and compelling interest in preventing minors from being exposed to indecent broadcasts.” It also maintained last week that it was justified in decreeing cussing on the Billboard Awards telecast indecent. Nothing in broadcasters' arguments since then has swayed it from that opinion, it said, and nothing prevents it from levying hefty fines if it chooses.
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