[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 341 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 341

 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require that violent video 
 programming is limited to broadcast after the hours when children are 
 reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience, 
unless it is specifically rated on the basis of its violent content so 
 that it is blockable by electronic means specifically on the basis of 
                             that content.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 15, 2001

Mr. Hollings (for himself, Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inouye, Mr. 
  Kohl, and Mr. Dorgan) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require that violent video 
 programming is limited to broadcast after the hours when children are 
 reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience, 
unless it is specifically rated on the basis of its violent content so 
 that it is blockable by electronic means specifically on the basis of 
                             that content.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Protection from Violent 
Programming Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Television influences children's perception of the 
        values and behavior that are common and acceptable in society.
            (2) Broadcast television, cable television, and video 
        programming are--
                    (A) uniquely pervasive presences in the lives of 
                all American children; and
                    (B) readily accessible to all American children.
            (3) Violent video programming influences children, as does 
        indecent programming.
            (4) There is empirical evidence that children exposed to 
        violent video programming at a young age have a higher tendency 
        to engage in violent and aggressive behavior later in life than 
        those children not so exposed.
            (5) There is empirical evidence that children exposed to 
        violent video programming have a greater tendency to assume 
        that acts of violence are acceptable behavior and therefore to 
        imitate such behavior.
            (6) There is empirical evidence that children exposed to 
        violent video programming have an increased fear of becoming a 
        victim of violence, resulting in increased self-protective 
        behaviors and increased mistrust of others.
            (7) There is a compelling governmental interest in limiting 
        the negative influences of violent video programming on 
        children.
            (8) There is a compelling governmental interest in 
        channeling programming with violent content to periods of the 
        day when children are not likely to comprise a substantial 
        portion of the television audience.
            (9) A significant amount of violent programming that is 
        readily accessible to minors remains unrated specifically for 
        violence and therefore cannot be blocked solely on the basis of 
        its violent content.
            (10) Age-based ratings that do not include content rating 
        for violence do not allow parents to block programming based 
        solely on violent content thereby rendering ineffective any 
        technology-based blocking mechanism designed to limit violent 
        video programming.
            (11) The most recent study of the television ratings system 
        by the Kaiser Family Foundation concludes that 79 percent of 
        violent programming is not specifically rated for violence.
            (12) Technology-based solutions, such as the V-chip, may be 
        helpful in protecting some children, but cannot achieve the 
        compelling governmental interest in protecting all children 
        from violent programming when parents are only able to block 
        programming that has, in fact, been rated for violence.
            (13) Restricting the hours when violent programming can be 
        shown protects the interests of children whose parents are 
        unavailable, unable to supervise their children's viewing 
        behavior, do not have the benefit of technology-based 
        solutions, are unable to afford the costs of technology-based 
        solutions, or are unable to determine the content of those 
        shows that are only subject to age-based ratings.
            (14) After further study, pursuant to a rulemaking, the 
        Federal Communications Commission may conclude that content-
        based ratings and blocking technology do not effectively 
        protect children from the harm of violent video programming.
            (15) If the Federal Communications Commission reaches the 
        conclusion described in paragraph (14), the channeling of 
        violent video programming will be the least restrictive means 
        of limiting the exposure of children to the harmful influences 
        of violent video programming.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENT RATING SYSTEM FOR 
              VIOLENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF V-CHIP IN BLOCKING VIOLENT 
              PROGRAMMING.

    (a) Report.--The Federal Communications Commission shall--
            (1) assess the effectiveness of measures to require 
        television broadcasters and multichannel video programming 
        distributors (as defined in section 602(13) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522(13)) to rate and 
        encode programming that could be blocked by parents using the 
        V-chip undertaken under section 715 of the Communications Act 
        of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 715) and under subsections (w) and (x) of 
        section 303 of that Act (47 U.S.C. 303(w) and (x)) in 
        accomplishing the purposes for which they were enacted; and
            (2) report its findings to the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation of the United States Senate and the 
        Committee on Commerce of the United States House of 
        Representatives, within 12 months after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, and annually thereafter.
    (b) Action.--If the Commission finds at any time, as a result of 
its ongoing assessment under subsection (a), that the measures referred 
to in subsection (a)(1) are insufficiently effective, then the 
Commission shall complete a rulemaking within 270 days after the date 
on which the Commission makes that finding to prohibit the distribution 
of violent video programming during the hours when children are 
reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience.
    (c) Definitions.--Any term used in this section that is defined in 
section 715 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 715), or in 
regulations under that section, has the same meaning as when used in 
that section or in those regulations.

SEC. 4. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO PROGRAMMING THAT IS NOT 
              SPECIFICALLY RATED FOR VIOLENCE AND THEREFORE IS NOT 
              BLOCKABLE.

    Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 715. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO PROGRAMMING NOT 
              SPECIFICALLY BLOCKABLE BY ELECTRONIC MEANS.

    ``(a) Unlawful Distribution.--It shall be unlawful for any person 
to distribute to the public any violent video programming not blockable 
by electronic means specifically on the basis of its violent content 
during hours when children are reasonably likely to comprise a 
substantial portion of the audience.
    ``(b) Rulemaking Proceeding.--The Commission shall conduct a 
rulemaking proceeding to implement the provisions of this section and 
shall promulgate final regulations pursuant to that proceeding not 
later than 9 months after the date of enactment of the Children's 
Protection from Violent Programming Act. As part of that proceeding, 
the Commission--
            ``(1) may exempt from the prohibition under subsection (a) 
        programming (including news programs and sporting events) whose 
        distribution does not conflict with the objective of protecting 
        children from the negative influences of violent video 
        programming, as that objective is reflected in the findings in 
        section 551(a) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996;
            ``(2) shall exempt premium and pay-per-view cable 
        programming and premium and pay-per-view direct-to-home 
        satellite programming; and
            ``(3) shall define the term `hours when children are 
        reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the 
        audience' and the term `violent video programming'.
    ``(c) Enforcement.--
            ``(1) Forfeiture penalty.--The Commission shall impose a 
        forfeiture penalty of not more than $25,000 on any person who 
        violates this section or any regulation promulgated under it 
        for each such violation. For purposes of this paragraph, each 
        day on which such a violation occurs is a separate violation.
            ``(2) License revocation.--If a person repeatedly violates 
        this section or any regulation promulgated under this section, 
        the Commission shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing, 
        revoke any license issued to that person under this Act.
            ``(3) License renewals.--The Commission shall consider, 
        among the elements in its review of an application for renewal 
        of a license under this Act, whether the licensee has complied 
        with this section and the regulations promulgated under this 
        section.
    ``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Blockable by electronic means.--The term `blockable 
        by electronic means' means blockable by the feature described 
        in section 303(x).
            ``(2) Distribute.--The term `distribute' means to send, 
        transmit, retransmit, telecast, broadcast, or cablecast, 
        including by wire, microwave, or satellite, but it does not 
        include the transmission, retransmission, or receipt of any 
        voice, data, graphics, or video telecommunications accessed 
        through an interactive computer service as defined in section 
        230(f)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        230(f)(2)), which is not originated or transmitted in the 
        ordinary course of business by a television broadcast station 
        or multichannel video programming distributor as defined in 
        section 602(13) of that Act (47 U.S.C. 522(13)).
            ``(3) Violent video programming.--The term `violent video 
        programming' as defined by the Commission may include matter 
        that is excessive or gratuitous violence within the meaning of 
        the 1992 Broadcast Standards for the Depiction of Violence in 
        Television Programs, December 1992.''.

SEC. 5. FTC STUDY OF MARKETING STRATEGY IMPROVEMENTS.

    The Federal Trade Commission shall study the marketing of violent 
content by the motion picture, music recording, and computer and video 
game industries to children, including the marketing practices 
improvements described by industry representatives at the hearing held 
by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on 
September 13, 2000. The Commission shall assess the extent to which 
these marketing practices have improved under the model of self-
regulation as recommended by the Commission in its September, 2000, 
report, Making Violent Entertainment to Children: A Review of Self 
Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music 
Recording and Electronic Game Industries. The Commission shall report 
the results of the study, including findings, and recommendations, if 
any, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
and the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce within 18 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. SEPARABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or any provision of an amendment made 
by this Act, or the application thereof to particular persons or 
circumstances, is found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this 
Act or that amendment, or the application thereof to other persons or 
circumstances shall not be affected.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The prohibition contained in section 715 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (as added by section 2 of this Act) and the regulations 
promulgated thereunder shall take effect 1 year after the regulations 
are adopted by the Commission.
                                 <all>