Bush signs law promoting censorship of kids' programming
President Bush on Tuesday signed the Child Safe Viewing Act, requiring the Federal Communications Commission to explore the market for technologies that allow parents to censor the programming their children watch.
The new law requires the FCC to issue a notice of inquiry to examine what advanced content-blocking technologies are available for various communication devices and platforms. It also calls for the FCC to consider how to encourage the development and use of such technologies without affecting content providers' pricing or packaging.
The term "advanced blocking technologies" is defined in the law as technology that enables parents to protect their children from "any indecent or objectionable video or audio programming, as determined by such parent, that is transmitted through the use of wire, wireless, or radio communication."
The FCC will have to report its findings to Congress within 270 days.
The bill was introduced last year by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. It passed unanimously in the Senate and passed without objection in the House in October.
Stephanie Condon is a staff writer for CNET News focused on the intersection of technology and politics. She is based in Washington, D.C. E-mail Stephanie.
Or should we just unplug the internet, TV, radio and grammaphone and go back to the ideals of 18th century America as Mr. Bush and his supporters desire?
Of course - that would mean getting parents to raise their kids. Oh, the horror!
Wow...you really ARE ignorant, aren't you?
Censorship in the classic sense is the use of government force to prevent the dissemination of information. It is not parents making certain that the information available to their children is suitable for those children based on the parents' intimate knowledge of the needs and capabilities of their children.
This headline hearkens back to the days of "yellow" journalism, when sensational headlines and articles were used to gin up public outcries to create ever more sensational headlines.
Given the exponentially expanding amount of garbage laying about the web and flowing through our media sewer pipes, it's about time tools were made available to those of us in the public who would like to choke the flow a bit. The bill the president signed encourages the development of technology that will be made available. It does not require anyone to use it.
Please think before you write.
Asking (allowing?) the government to pay parents to stay home with their children is not only totally unfeasible economically, it creates a legal precedent that seems to say:
a) Parents are not innately responsible for their children; the task of looking after them is an *optional* job that deserves payment.
b) The government *is* responsible for America's children. They already control the education system, you want to give them a legal opening to control every other aspect of your child's life as well?
The government has done an utterly horrible job managing almost every aspect of American policy for the last 20/30 years, but people still seem ready to jump on the bureaucratic bandwagon every time a payout of some sort is involved. Remember: with privilege comes responsibility; with lack of responsibility comes lack of privilege. The more you take from the government, the greater the control you give them over your life.
Censorship is:
1 a: the institution, system, or practice of censoring b: the actions or practices of censors ; especially : censorial control exercised repressively
Nowhere does the definition mention Government.
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/censorship
Promoting technology to allow parents to fulfill their obligations as parents is not censorship. Additionally, the President signing a law that was passed UNANIMOUSLY in both houses by a Democratic-controlled Congress is hardly "Bush promotes censorship."
OMG, I think I just went to far. I guess I'm in a dark mood today. Since sarcasm doesn't come across well in blogs, I'M KIDDING! Please do NOT harm your children, hug them instead!
There are already a half dozen methods of filtering what kids see. But many parents are either ignorant of their existence or don't know how to work them, expecting them to somehow be fully automated and completely parallel with their definitions of "objectionable".
I really wish there was a way we could stop fuhrer bushit from doing anything else until he leaves office. All he's doing now is robbing us blind and trying to complicate the messes for Obama to clean up. Why can't he and chimpy just crawl into a corner and burn in hell already?
How the heck do you think Obama is going to fund any of his grand promises? I'm all for smaller, less intrusive government but also less handouts, less "Don't worry, we'll save you financially" (both personal and corporate), and frankly, less meddling of the government "financial wizards" both Republican and Democratic who keep trying to "fix" a system that is supposed to be self adjusting anyway.
Firstly we must teach our children these harrassment things as a parent. We can not forgive the technology or can not give our child up.
There is a platphorum about child safe at Turkish law. http://www.hukuki.net (but language is Turkish)
Moral: don't ever ask the government to do anything for you that you could do for yourself.
Read carefully the wording about protecting our kids from "any indecent or objectionable video or audio programming, as determined by such parent, that is transmitted through the use of wire, wireless, or radio communication." So if someone on a phone call (a wired or wireless) says something objectionable to the parent of a child, how does this law enforce that. Are all humans now censored in public or risk jail? It should be common good manners to watch what you say in public and not government enforcement. What about radio (wireless)? Is every DJ now censored from saying or discussing anything objectionable ever? The FCC currently limits swearing which I am OK with but what about topics parents find objectionable? A child could overhear a radio station from a passing car, at the dentist, or just out and about. How can any technology in these cases protect kids without censoring everything for everyone else based on the hundreds of thousands of different criteria that we all may find objectionable? The intention is amiable but the standard law broad verbiage is ripe for abuse.
Parents can control somewhat their home environment with the v-chip, reviewing video game ratings or even better playing with your kids, listening to radio with an ear out for "kid friendly" vs. adult content, and can pay close attention to their kids online habits and use internet filtering through a child login to the family computer as well as close observation. These are what parents should and many do and those that don't wold be advised to start. As I've said prior, the government would be well received if it provided resources in the form of information rather than enforcing laws that could be abused. Only good family upbringing should protect your kids when they are outside your zone of influence since if we let someone else do it, it will be overdone and abused.
That's my $0.02.
One of the professors at my university (Simon Fraser University, Canada) created the V-Chip while I was doing my degree in electrical engineering. Shortly thereafter, President Clinton appealed to Congress to require the V-Chip technology in all new TVs. A law was passed - all the TVs had to have the V-Chip, and the broadcasters had to include the electronic rating information. The technology exists, is deployed, and works.
Problem solved, right?
Apparently not. Stuff like this only highlights how incapable governments are at regulating their affairs - they don't even seem to take the five seconds to do a google search that would reveal that the solution already exists. But then again, politics is not about providing solutions, it's about *appearing* to provide solutions or take action.
I do use "parental controls" on my TV/DVR and on our PCs, and I do wish they had more flexability. I do wish that the technology allowed it ability to watch a R rated movie at a PG level. Some of this technology exists but its not always compatible with the latest technologies (i.e. HDMI). I would also like to create a black list a particular show, since not all PG-13 or PG shows are created equal. It's also hard to filter the internet on a wide scale, such as via the Wii, or Sony PSP, or a cell phone.
Last, how do we block the school teachers? According to my kids, the stuff coming out of their high school teachers mouth and the books they have to read are as bad as a lot of TV shows that I would block.