Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - The Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation Thursday asking the Federal Communications Commission to oversee the development of a super V-chip that could screen content on everything from cell phones to the Internet. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., the sponsor of the Child Safe Viewing Act, claims that the new law is necessary because content is no longer confined to the TV or radio, and he contends the same technology that allows content to increasingly migrate from device to device also can be used to empower parents. "It's an uphill battle for parents trying to protect their kids...

Every night around 11 o'clock my wife reluctantly relinquishes the remote control so I can select the local newscast we watch. The scene is familiar to millions of people for whom the TV remote can sometimes cause marital friction and spark a battle for the power to determine what others watch. On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to discuss whether there is too much violence on cable and satellite TV and what to do about it. The issue of TV violence is the baby of Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who was scheduled...

WASHINGTON, April 25 — Concerned about an increase in violence on television, the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday urged lawmakers to consider regulations that would restrict violent programs to late evening, when most children would not be watching. The commission, in a long-awaited report, concluded that the program ratings system and technology intended to help parents block offensive programs — like the V-chip — had failed to protect children from being regularly exposed to violence. As a result, the commission recommended that Congress move to limit violence on entertainment programs by giving the agency the authority to define such content...

Madison Ave. ad execs are so bent on taking control of America's children, they'd put computer chips in kids' brains if they could, Sen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday. Saying advertisers have found so many new ways to get at kids through video games and the Internet, Clinton warned that we're verging on a society out of a grim science fiction novel. "At the rate that technology is advancing, people will be implanting chips in our children to advertise directly into their brains and tell them what kind of products to buy," Clinton said at the Kaiser Family Foundation. The New...

Three major cable providers are buying into the launch of two new homosexual cable networks that will air homosexual programming around the clock for the first time in U.S. television history. In April, Comcast and Cox Communications agreed to offer the homosexual network "Here," put out by Regent Entertainment through their video-on-demand offerings. Viacom will offer its own advertiser-supported homosexual network, "LOGO," as a basic cable channel starting on June 30. "I don't think most parents want their children flipping channels on their way to the Cartoon Network and running across a scene of two men kissing in bed on...

Executives of America's leading cable systems have announced an initiative to "help families manage their television viewing and protect children from inappropriate programming." One pro-family group called the effort, announced Wednesday, a "$250-million sham." "Take Control. It's Easy" is the name of the campaign, which will feature an enhanced TV ratings system and a $250-million multimedia public service campaign designed to inform the 70 million cable subscribers in the U.S. about parental control tools. However, L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, blasted the program as an attempt "to spin the public with a multi-million-dollar campaign to promote...

February 13, 2005 How Do I Love Thee? I'm Not Sure Yet By DAMIEN CAVE IET GAUCHAT arrived at his new girlfriend's apartment on Valentine's Day a few years ago with box of chocolate candy and a card. Their first date had occurred only a few weeks earlier, and since he had just ended a serious relationship, Mr. Gauchat approached the holiday warily. He figured candy was safe - a step up from the clip-on teddy bear he'd given to someone a few years back, yielding the complaint that he was "an emotional park bench." The idea was simply to...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 - Shortly before becoming chairman of the Federal Communications Commission nearly four years ago, Michael K. Powell said it was time to eliminate the double standard that allowed the government to subject broadcasters, unlike their competitors in cable and satellite television, to indecency and other speech regulations. At the time, Mr. Powell received a Freedom of Speech Award for advancing what broadcasters and civil liberties groups viewed as a courageously principled position. Now, he is being harshly criticized for significantly expanding the indecency rules. He blames a quest for higher ratings for the "increasing coarseness" of programming...

BBC Science producer Simon Morton goes clubbing in Barcelona with a microchip implanted in his arm to pay for drinks. Having the chip inserted was a breeze Imagine having a glass capsule measuring 1.3mm by 1mm, about the size of a large piece of rice injected under your skin. Implanting microchips that emit a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) into animals has been common practice in many countries around the world, with some looking to make it a legal requirement for domestic pet owners. The idea of having my very own microchip implanted in my body appealed. I have always been...