Citation

Potter WJ, Warren R. J. Commun. 1996; 46(4): 116-138.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, International Communication Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1460-2466.1996.tb01509.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

For decades, lawmakers have been debating what they can do to protect children from the harmful effects of violence on television. The debate has intensified recently with three major proposals: (a) to require manufacturers to install a V-chip into all new televisions so parents can program their sets, thus preventing their children from being exposed to violence; (b) to require television programmers to display a violence rating for each program; and (c) to limit the showing of violent programs to "safe harbors" when children are not viewing. In the winter of 1996 Congress passed the Telecommunication Competition and Deregulation Act, which, among other things, adopted the first two proposals. We argue that the thinking behind each of these proposals is fundamentally flawed.