FCC Starts Wide-Ranging Parental-Control Inquiry
The FCC wants to know how parental-control technologies can be improved across a wide range of consumer electronics, cable, satellite and wireless devices. For an upcoming report to Congress, the commission sought comments on how “advanced blocking technologies” can be used across the devices. The FCC released a notice of inquiry late Monday, at a deadline set by the Child Safe Viewing Act (CD Feb 26 p7). It asked what’s considered indecent or objectionable and what constitutes a blocking technology.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
The notice asked many questions about how parental controls are used online. Noting the act’s indicates that a TV episode can be watched on a set connected over the air or by cable or satellite, on a wireless device or a Web- connected computer, it asked whether video-hosting sites including YouTube provide “video programming” and so should be included in the FCC’s review. It pointed to Hulu.com and the iTunes Stores as examples of Web sites that let users watch TV shows online. “The safety of children online has been a primary concern of families and Congress since the Internet was first opened to public use,” the notice said.
The notice asked whether online tagging of a video, photo or blog as offensive is “an effective solution” to protect young people. It said trying to block their access to specific sites may be. “Is offensive content properly flagged, and has the industry been responsive in acting on flagged content?” The commission noted that encrypted content can get around online blocking technologies and asked how young people can circumvent them. “Wi-Fi hot spots, a neighbor’s wireless LAN, or Internet access that is publicly available, such as in schools and libraries and Internet cafes” offer chances to evade parental restrictions, the agency said.
Portable wireless devices that kids use away from their parents “present additional challenges,” the FCC said. It asked how to encourage development of ways to block video and other content on the devices and whether carrier classification standards, and access-control technologies under development, are “effective and easy to understand and activate by parents?” It asked about “pros and cons” of blocking content through the network versus the handset.
Stationary CE devices received attention, too. The notice asked about whether there are blocking tools, particularly for DVD players and VCRs. It asked how tools for those devices, digital audio players and portable media players compare with what’s available for networked devices. Though the act doesn’t mention video games and video players, “in light of the popularity of video games among children and concerns expressed regarding their content,” it sought comment on whether the review should examine how to control access to games. The notice asked whether “intellectual property concerns” could affect improvements in the V-chip. It noted that Tri-Vision International licenses technology for manufacturers to make TV sets that use multiple program- rating systems.
The FCC asked how the current rating system can be improved. It said some studies have found that few parents understand what ratings mean or use V-chips. “The V-chip has been referred to as an ‘orphaned technology,’ meaning that no entity has a financial incentive to promote its use,” the commission said. “What role should the industry or government play in promoting the V-chip?” It asked whether ads should be rated and about the availability of systems besides any developed by content producers. It asked what extra parental controls are available to pay-TV subscribers and whether cable set-top boxes and satellite receivers are easier to use than V-chips. It also inquired about technology in DVRs.
Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps criticized the media for an overabundance of “graphically violent and indecent content.” Though parents use controls on over-the-air TV sets and pay-TV services, kids can find the same programming online or on wireless devices, he added. Commissioner Robert McDowell said the review may help industry find “gaps or weaknesses in existing parental control mechanisms.” The FCC’s report on parental controls is due to Congress before Aug. 29, said Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Mark Pryor, D-Ark. and the act’s sponsor. Both said they're “pleased” the FCC began the review.
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said the FCC review should have started sooner, such as after the Senate Commerce Committee in 2007 unanimously approved the legislation, and then it would have been completed by now. “For too long, the Commission has been derelict in its statutory responsibility to promote a comprehensive and constitutional approach” for material that’s inappropriate yet not considered indecent by the FCC, he wrote. Comments are due April 16, replies May 18.