Notes

Statement of Commissioner Michael J. Copps

from the Federal Communication Commission website

Re: Children’s Television Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters (MM Docket No. 00-167)

Kids today live in a super-saturated media environment. They are interacting with more media more often than at any other time in our nation’s history. Television, radio, cable and now the Internet are perhaps the most powerful forces at work in the world today. When used for good, they enlighten minds, convey powerful ideas, educate and lay the foundation for human development. But when they are used to misinform and mislead they can—and sometimes do—inflict lasting harm.

We have reason to be concerned. The Kaiser Family Foundation tells us that children are spending over six and a half hours per day exposed to media, almost 4 hours of that time with television. The average child sees tens of thousands of commercials a year. More disturbing still are studies demonstrating that children eight and younger don’t—because they can’t—distinguish between advertisements and programming. They accept commercials as true because they don’t have the skills and cognitive resources to distinguish between fact and fiction.

Congress recognized these tough challenges for parents and the high stakes for children long ago…Indeed, in the Children’s Television Act, Congress specifically directed the Commission1 to protect children against excessive advertisements on television…

Two years ago, the Commission began the task of updating our policies adopted under the Children’s Television Act. The goal was simple: ensuring that our rules continue to serve the interests of children and parents as the country transitions from analog to digital television…We’ve had some fits and starts getting this digital children’s agenda on the road. But I am pleased today to support this decision. It resolves at long last important outstanding issues regarding the obligation of television broadcasters to protect and serve the children in their audience.

We have reached this milestone because so many worked so hard to bring this effort to a successful conclusion. We especially owe a debt of gratitude to the key players in the children’s media community and media companies who decided to get together and hammer out a solution instead of engage in a lengthy legal tussle.