Congress could regulate violent TV prog: FCC

Washington, Apr 26: The US Congress could craft laws to regulate violent programming on television without running afoul with free speech rights, communications regulators said.

After more than three years of study, the Federal Communications Commission issued a report to lawmakers that also said research shows that exposure to violence in the media can boost aggressive behaviour in children.

Currently the FCC does not have the authority to regulate violence on the airwaves, although it does have the ability to regulate obscenity, sexual content and profanity.

However, any attempt by Congress to regulate violence on television would likely face stiff opposition by television networks and free speech advocates like the American Civil Liberties Union.

The agency said yesterday it believes that Congress could develop an appropriate definition of excessively violent programming, but said such language needs to be ''narrowly tailored and in conformance with judicial precedent.'' FCC Chairman Kevin Martin acknowledged that it was parents' responsibility to protect their children, but he said existing tools were not sufficient and renewed his call for cable and satellite providers to offer programming a la carte style.

''Broadcasters could reinstate the Family Hour at the beginning of prime-time,'' he said. ''Cable and satellite operators could enable parents to avoid purchasing channels that tend to show excessively violent programming by allowing them to purchase channels individually or in smaller bundles.'' A LA CARTE Cable operators have blasted a la carte, arguing it would increase costs for consumers and squash diversity.

Television set manufacturers have been required to include a chip, known as the V-chip, that allows parents to set controls based upon programme ratings.

The FCC report found the chip had ''limited effectiveness in protecting children from violent television content.'' The report urged the industry to take steps on its own to limit children's exposure to violence.

It also suggested that violence could be regulated in a similar way to how indecency is regulated -- where broadcasters are restricted from airing indecent material between certain times.

''The FCC has yet to define what 'violence' means for the purposes of regulation, and how much is too much,'' the ACLU said in a statement. ''Monitoring what your children watch on television is a parent's responsibility -- not Uncle Sam's.'' Sen Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, said he would review the report to see if any of its recommendations could be incorporated into legislation he plans to offer in the coming weeks. ''Violent television content is reaching epidemic proportions,'' he said in a statement.

In 2004, several lawmakers asked the FCC whether it could define exceedingly violent programming that is harmful to children and whether the agency could regulate it in a constitutional manner.

Reuters>