[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 8 (Thursday, January 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1070-S1071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS ON JANUARY 14, 2003

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 161

       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

[[Page S1071]]

     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.

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