Draft FCC Kids-Media Notice of Inquiry Seeks More Research
A draft notice of inquiry on children’s media now before FCC members mostly asks questions set up in the commission’s August report to Congress on parental controls (CD Sept 1 p1), FCC and industry officials said. The report listed 10 issues to be explored in the inquiry, most related to the V- chip and other types of parental controls. The draft notice on the eighth floor asks about ways to improve parental controls and mentions the Children’s Television Act, commission officials said.
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The notice, by the Media Bureau, was circulated Monday by the office of Chairman Julius Genachowski, but no date has been set for a vote on it, FCC officials said. If it’s not approved at the Oct. 22 commission meeting, it could be voted on soon after, said a person who lobbies the commission on media issues. The draft reaches no tentative conclusions, FCC officials said. A commission spokeswoman declined to comment.
The document asks that comments proposing specific solutions discuss whether the FCC has both statutory and constitutional authority to carry them out, commission officials said. The draft asks about “white listing” -- parents choosing in advance the types of programming they want their kids to be allowed to see, FCC officials said. It also asks about ways to help parents find content they consider desirable for their children, an official said.
The notice opens the door for additional scientific study of youth and media, asking whether the commission should do research on its own and about areas where more evaluation is needed, FCC officials said. It expresses “a great desire” for more studies on various issues raised in the document such as why parents don’t use current content filters more widely, one said. The report also references current research, officials said.
“I'm hopeful on this NOI,” said Policy Director Dan Isett of the Parents Television Council, which opposes what it considers media indecency. “I've been reassured by the chairman’s office and all the commissioners that these issues are going to be a priority for the new commission, so the proof is going to be in the pudding.” There’s already “an enormous amount of scientific study” on how media affect children, he added, so “I don’t see a reason for the taxpayers to fund another study.”