The government needs a new Children’s TV Act to account for chang...

as Congress passed the Children’s TV Act of 1990, today we need to rethink how media is harnessed in innovative ways to enhance and support our children’s education,” it said. “Instead of focusing on just television, we need a ‘Children’s Media Act’ that modernizes the intent of the law and reflects on how children are using digital media well beyond just the television set.” The FCC should limit its focus to promoting parental empowerment tools, Google said. “While there may be a temptation to go further and adopt actual regulations, the Commission’s statutory jurisdiction to regulate broadcast television does not extend to Internet content and online media,” Google said. The notice also attracted comments on TV rating systems and the regulation of cable and broadcast kids programming. There’s no need for additional regulation involving the V-chip, CEA said. For those who use it, the V- chip is an easy, effective tool, the group said. But it’s just one of the parental control tools available, and that should be considered with figures on awareness and use of the technology, CEA said. Parents should have access to independent TV ratings, said Common Sense. TV ratings should also be easier to understand and use, it said. “Encouraging industry rating systems to use a common code would help more parents understand the ratings and would increase the usage of the parental control tools that rely on those ratings,” the group said. Meanwhile, the market encourages pay-TV providers to give parents information and control, making unnecessary government requirements of technologies, Comcast said. TiVo recommended that the commission avoid mandates “that create additional confusion or complication.” But the FCC should encourage technologies that help parents find quality children’s programming and encourage content providers to attach ratings with commonly understood definitions, TiVo said. The FCC’s power to regulate cable programming is limited, the NCTA said, a contention raised by several other commenters (CD Feb 25 p8). “The commission has certain narrowly-defined statutory obligations when it comes to regulating children’s programming on cable television,” NCTA said. “Any effort to expansively regulate in this area would raise serious jurisdictional and constitutional concerns.” The NAB also raised constitutional qualms about the FCC’s increasing its role in broadcast programming for kids. “Increased FCC involvement in determinations as to whether particular programs meet children’s educational and informational needs would raise serious First Amendment concerns,” the group said.