Fuck the FCC.

Let us know how much they fine you for that comment.

This a horrible idea! I could understand perhaps a V-chip type thing where parents could turn it on if they wanted, but on by default? Ad dollars will dry up in a hurry, and you can say goodbye to childrens' TV when that happens.

Good to much time wasted on tv and noise...its about time. Perhaps its a necessary evil(tv) but its very hard to care what really happens with it. Everything starts somewhere and also will always END somewhere. The one thing that REALLY chops my ballz about tv are the 50% louder commercials..THAT is what should be regulated.

I don't think it's as much about TV as it is about overzealous censorship. I don't think kids are being brainwashed into wanting certain things just because of a commercial, and if they are they are stupid, and i don't mean the kind of stupid that comes with innocence, i mean the kind of stupid called lack of common sense which seems to be dwindling more and more in today's society.

i think its going to come down to either you opt in or you cable bill goes up by 400%, no adds means the stations are going to need to get their money out of the cable providers who will get it out of us through our bill. Either that or every commercial will be a viagra ad.

How about the FFC get the fuck out of my life.... I don't need them parenting my freaking kids. I can handle that on my own. Of course I don't blame just them, but the parents to lazy to do their jobs and parent their own freaking kids.

This country has turned into to too much of a nanny state. Parents, not the government, needs to provide parenting for the kids in this country. I get more and more tired of the current administration as the days go on.

Does it somehow really really distantly starting to remind you guys of some kind censorship ?

China ? Green dam ?

how about we just let the parents tell their kids "no". That has worked out for centuries.

THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CHILDREN! PERIOD!

EG: California, squirrel attacks kid, kid and mother can't defend themselves against tiny tree rat, government decides to trap and kill squirrels in mass.

this kind of crap is just flipping retarded. people are pathetic. What's going to happen when some foreign entity invades your home and decides to just start killing people. You're going to whine and expect someone else to take care of it and get killed BECAUSE YOU TAKE NO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

anybody who disagrees need not reply because you're wrong.

i just sent this to these people at the fcc:

Chairman Julius Genachowski: Julius.Genachowski@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov

I have been coming into articles like this on an almost daily basis. To be quite frank I'm rather sick of it. I don't want to live in a communist country. I recommend that all proposals that put responsibility on the state and off of the shoulders of parents be dismissed immediately for obvious reasons. I have included below a link to the article, as well as pasting it in this message along with my simple but to the point response to this particular article. Note that I am not the only one with this opinion. Remember as a government facility YOU work for the public. If any of you decide to open your eyes and do a little REAL research, you will see that the public is sick of this kind of crap. Thanks for your time. Don't bother replying unless you have something intelligent to say.

article link:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/FCC-Co [...] M_comments


article as written if you're too lazy to follow the link:

The FCC is ready to stomp on commercialization geared towards children.

ZoomThere's no mistaking those commercials that are clearly geared towards kids, advertising cereal, dramatizing toys, hyping games to the point where children believe that the products are a "must buy." Now the Federal Communications Commission wants to clamp down on those adverts, telling the Senate on Wednesday (PDF) that the commercials should not be allowed without some kind of parental consent device.

Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, said that he has directed the FCC staff to launch a probe regarding how the FCC can "best protect children and empower parents in the digital age." The investigation is expected to "refresh" the FCC's record and gather the facts needed to properly promote the Children's Television Act.

"I believe that the versatility of digital television will provide new and beneficial economic opportunities to broadcasters--a critical goal, especially in this time of economic challenge," Genachowski said at a Senate Commerce and Science Committee hearing.

"At the same time, protecting kids from inappropriate commercialization remains an essential objective in the digital TV era," he added. "While of course the Commission will study the record fully, at this point I’m inclined to agree that the Agency should make its tentative conclusion final and say that interactive ads directed at children are off-limits without an opt-in by parents."

The Children's Television Act came into play back in 1990, requiring that TV stations provide educational programming for children. The law also enables the FCC to limit the number of commercials viewed during that time slot.


credit www.tomsguide.com


my particular response followed by another i extracted:

how about we just let the parents tell their kids "no". That has worked out for centuries.

THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CHILDREN! PERIOD!

EG: California, squirrel attacks kid, kid and mother can't defend themselves against tiny tree rat, government decides to trap and kill squirrels in mass.

this kind of crap is just flipping retarded. people are pathetic. What's going to happen when some foreign entity invades your home and decides to just start killing people. You're going to whine and expect someone else to take care of it and get killed BECAUSE YOU TAKE NO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

anybody who disagrees need not reply because you're wrong.

secondary response from another member:

Does it somehow really really distantly starting to remind you guys of some kind censorship ?

China ? Green dam ?

third response:

How about the FFC get the fuck out of my life.... I don't need them parenting my freaking kids. I can handle that on my own. Of course I don't blame just them, but the parents to lazy to do their jobs and parent their own freaking kids.


Closing:

By the way, before you even think about trying to respond. Answer me this... how the hell do expect to deploy this censorship over MILLIONS of different hardware and software configurations? Oh wait, YOU CAN'T.

by the way.... putting "explicit lyrics" and ratings on media has not stopped young children from saying "f*ck" or finding a way to see a movie or play an adult game.




if anyone else wants to send a piece the addresses are there.

So many comments here seem to be made by people that obviously do not have children or are children themselves...

Get a child addicted to a 'brand' by the age of five, and you have a customer for life. 'Pester power' is one of the best marketing tools now known.

As a parent I guess my opinion matters some on this subject. While I don't mind the ads that are flashy and try to entice kids to get want product X I do however wish that some ads I could block that I feel are inappropriate for him at such a young age.

I can and do control that TV shows he watches like any parent should. But when it comes to ads I am simply powerless as they aren't rated and can't be blocked. I believe the ads should have a age rating system just like the TV shows and can be blocked.

I know a few people are going to object to this thinking something along the lines of ad revenue will suffer but does a child really need to see some of the ads that somehow make it to TV? Besides these types of ads aren't normally marketing to children anyways so what harm would it do if they don't see them? Its not like this would be a way for adults to skip commercials either as I'm sure they would rather see commercials than watch a screen with text saying that the ad currently over the age rating set to the TV.

I have a solution!
Torrent entire seasons of friendly safe childrens television and just play them all day... and tada! No comercials!
See, torrents are healthy.

Or stop using the TV as a babysitter...

My nephew (who i raised for a year) is brand addicted... but it's not a serious issue (just exoensive some days).




Amen to that.

I've lived without TV for a year now. It's not a necessity.

All you amateurs ragging on the FCC need to get a life. Sure the FCC does some sketchy stuff from time to time and needs to be kept in check, but this is not one of those times!

We are talking about children here. Children will literally believe anything you tell them, and companies exploit this very well (Disney channel).

Are parents supposed to tell kids to run to another room whenever a commercial comes on? Parents absolutely should be the primary party responsible for raising their children, but in today's age it is just impossible to filter out all the BS that children see on TV or the internet. Everything is becoming too accessible in some cases.

The FCC has stopped doing their original job. When you have KY gel, alcohol, and male enhancement pill commercials during the day. When I am watching a movie I pretty much know what to expect. When a commercial comes on it could be just about anything. I have the right not to be embarrassed in my own home by said commercials. Where did the 10 o'clock rule go for these types of commercials?

Commercials was a big part of what the FCC was all about. Now it seems the FCC does nothing unless a female gets exposed during a sporting event.

Please FCC do something with these alcohol, KY gel, and male enhancement pill commercials. These are sicking to watch and air at all times of the day.

And where are the parents? On the other side of the world that a machine needs to take over. Kids need to get some education as well as parents but first another quote to bash.



I guess this is very difficult, tell me mister senator and FCC guys.

Have you tried EDUCATION, yes it's a hard word for you.
But if you EDUCATE people, they can do stuff themselves!!
I know, it seems ridiculous doesn't it? People doing stuff themselves for themselves. But it at least deserves a try.
You should do this instead of trying to feel useful with making such laws. Making the people some more responsible has never come up for you it seems.

Genachowski is working for Microsoft.

The reason MS wants to do these laws is because MS wants to go ultimately to TV's that are DRM'd and ()have a Windows box that does parental controls and stuff for it ().


The recent recruit-ions are also making me wondering what's happening at FCC:
http://www.benton.org/node/26446
Seems a lot of former MS employees are becoming high-ranked FCC Officials.

Is Microsoft taking over the FCC?
These article's are suggesting it is:
http://badvista.fsf.org/blog/don-t [...] te-control
http://boycottnovell.com/2009/07/2 [...] vanroekel/

The headlines and descriptions in this Google search are very worrying.
http://www.google.be/search?hl=nl& [...] eken&meta=

A company is working on a chip that takes care of it.
I heard they got it to work very well.
No need for the FCC to regulate that.

are you both morons ???? weould you rather a comperation continually shove shit in your kids faces so they can be "hooked" on wanting all the crap that these companies want to sell to your kid (AKA want you to buy for your kid) for once teh FCC does somethign with really good intetions adn youw ant to condemn them for it , i don't know aobut you but perosnally i don't want my child's self worth to measured by how much shit they can accumulate , soem of tehse ads targeted at kids so they will" beg mommy and daddy for crap , are getting prety low aobut it. i think it is about damn time the FCC started protecting out kids from these over zealous "salesmen". they are not talking about ousting ads altogether just ensuring the ones that do go up don't sink to the level of manipulating your children in to believing they need what ever crap the ad is trying to sell. If a n insurance sells man came to your door , and talked only to your child , and convinced your kid they need to go beg you to buy what ever insureance , i bet your ass , would want to beat teh hell of that douche bag salesman. so why the hell should you feel beter abouta tv ad doing teh same ? I say GOOD JOB FOR ONCE FCC.

this is not aobut the goverment trying to aprent for you , this is about total strangers comign to your kid and tryign to maniopulate them into beleiving they need soemthgin they don't sure you can talk to your kid about this , but it still wont change teh fact that teh ad sharks , are at your hosue daily and often when you arnt around , squishing total shit into your child's head and maniuplating your kid's self image with many of thier ads

it IS about the government trying to be a parent for you, and people like you are more than willing to fork over freedom in place of the sense of 'safety' every single time. it's sad. If YOU don't like your kids to be hounded by commercials then it's YOUR responsibility to take care of it. You have SEVERAL options to take care of this. And for the better of your kid I will go ahead and point you in the right direction.

FREE: MythTV has commercial skipping software for recordings. Or torrent TV shows you want your kid to watch 99% of the time, the commercials are left out in torrents.

Not Free (can be found cheap with a cable deal): Any off the line DVR. Record the shows, or pause it for 10 minutes while you actually do something with your children, like make pop corn or breakfast or teaching him/her how to wipe their own butt.

See, one ignorant comment and you've got the advice you need to becoming a better parent and solve what you think is a huge problem ALL WITHOUT LEGISLATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT. Not to mention, devices like a DVR is how they would have to implement the solution anyway. One way or another you'd have to do the same thing i mentioned above.

Quit talking if you're not willing to do any actual work or ask for a solution for your issues rather than relying on the government to do it for you.

By the way, when I was a kid, watching TV was a family centered activity, still is at times. You can teach your kid how to use a dvr and commercial skip if you're not willing to spend time with them. Not to mention kids of a certain age shouldn't be sitting there doing nothing all the time, it's not good for them. Not a big deal. you're just lazy.

Having said that, do what you want with your kids, they're yours. I'm not going to petition the government to enforce laws that tell you how to raise them... but that's just something i call freedom.

Meh, if you don't want your kids watching commercials, make them play outside or watch PBS. If you really had to, you could buy/rent/borrow the cartoons on DVD.

However, I will say that I saw my fair share of commercials as a child, and they didn't make me want what was advertised to the point of pestering. If I wanted something, it was because a friend had it or I had already tried it first-hand

+


Meh, if you don't want your kids watching commercials, make them play outside or watch PBS. If you really had to, you could buy/rent/borrow the cartoons on DVD.

However, I will say that I saw my fair share of commercials as a child, and they didn't make me want what was advertised to the point of pestering. If I wanted something, it was because a friend had it or I had already tried it first-hand


Agreed. I sat on my fat ass and watched plenty of TV as a young child (17 now) and I never pestered my parents for toys or products. Sure, I don't want Viagra commercials on television when I have children but the occasional Hannah Montana or G.I Joe commercial shouldn't be regulated.

Guess my parents actually raised me, rather than relying on the government for everything. Seems like that is more than can be said for some of the posters on this website.

Who the hell still watches TV?

Seriously, spend some actual time with your kids so they turn out well-adjusted instead of zombifying them with rubbish from the idiot box.