ACLU Calls FCC Television Violence Recommendations Unworkable

Contact: media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union responded today to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) report on television violence. The FCC report recommends that Congress regulate violence on television in the way indecency is now regulated. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has announced that he will be reintroducing legislation giving the FCC explicit authority over “violent” programming.

The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“The FCC’s recommendations are political pandering. The government should not replace parents as decision makers in America’s living rooms. There are some things the government does well, but deciding what is aired and when on television is not one of them. Parents already have many tools to protect their children, including blocking programs and channels, changing the channel, or turning off the television. Government should not parent the parents.

How is it possible to quantify violence on television? The FCC has yet to define what ‘violence’ means for the purposes of regulation, and how much is too much. Monitoring what your children watch on television is a parent’s responsibility – not Uncle Sam’s.”