By Fawn Johnson Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski told a Senate panel Wednesday that regulators should tighten laws governing children's television programming in light of new technologies that have emerged over the last two decades.
Genachowski has been at the helm of the commission for less than a month, but he already believes interactive television ads should be banned for children's programming on digital TV, absent parental controls.
Before Genachowski took over as chairman, the FCC tentatively concluded that interactive TV advertising should be prohibited on digital children's TV if the ads didn't offer a parental opt-in.
"At this point, I'm inclined to agree that the FCC should make its tentative conclusion final," Genachowski said at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee.
Genachowski added he generally supports the versatility that digital TV provides for broadcasters, like interactive ads that allow viewers to click through to a product Web site.
Genachowski said video games, Internet content, and mobile TV services all deserve a careful look by policymakers to ensure that children are protected from inappropriate content and excessive advertising.
But Genachowski was careful to note the FCC's ability to enforce the law through the broadcast license renewal process remains paramount.
"Broadcasting remains an essential medium," Genachowski said. "Broadcasting is still the exclusive source of video programming relied upon by millions of households in the country."
The FCC considers TV's impact on children when it considers broadcast license renewals. Under the law, commercials are limited during children's programming, and the FCC can gauge programs' educational content.
Children's television content is a topic of great concern to Committee Chairman John Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
"I'm so put off by the whole concept of promiscuity," Rockefeller said. "I continue to believe that programming with gratuitous sex and excessive violence harms our children."
John Lawson, Executive Vice President of ION Media Networks Inc. (IION), and Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami, also testified at the hearing. Nickelodeon is part of Viacom Inc. (VIA).
-By Fawn Johnson, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9263; fawn.johnson@dowjones.com
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Publié le 22 Juillet 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones