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 OPENING  REMARKS  OF  FCC  COMMMISSIONER  KATHLEEN  Q.  ABERNATHY 
 THE  FUTURE  OF  TELEVISION  AND  CHILDREN'S  MEDIA  POLICY  FEBRUARY  28,  2003 


 Thank  you  for  inviting  me  here  to  be  a  part  of  this  roundtable  discussion  on  the  future  of  television  and  children's  media.  I  feel  privileged  to  be  part  of  such  an 
 impressive  group  and  I  look  forward  to  learning  from  all  of  you,  as  well  as  sharing  some  thoughts.  It  will  take  all  of  our  combined  efforts  to  secure  our  children’s  future.  I 
 thought  I  would  take  a  few  moments  to  focus  on  the  role  of  the  FCC  in  this  partnership  and  discuss  two  areas  in  particular  where  the  Commission  is  focusing  on  how  families 
 can  benefit  from  television's  digital  age.  The  first  is  children's  television  programming  rules  and  the  second  is  ratings  and  V-  chip  technology. 


 Children's  Television  Rules.  The  Commission  recently  requested  that  parties  update  the  record  of  our  current  proceeding  on  how  we  should  apply  our  children's  television 
 programming  rules  to  digital  broadcasting.  Digital  broadcasting  brings  many  advantages  to  the  public  and  the  industry,  including  the  ability  to  multicast  and  offer  interactive 
 capabilities.  Thus,  we  need  to  look  at  how  our  current  policies  are  affected  by  these  new  technologies.  For  example,  in  the  past,  we  have  been  concerned  that  local  or  network 
 preemptions  may  thwart  the  goals  of  the  Children’s  Television  Act  of  1990.  Should  our  policy  permitting  limited  preemptions  change  in  light  of  a  digital  broadcaster's  ability  to 
 multicast?  Advances  in  technology  bring  not  only  benefits,  but  also  unexpected  harms.  Thus,  we  have  asked  how  our  rules  on  commercial  limits  should  be  interpreted  given  the 
 potential  for  interactive  capabilities  that  could  include  the  direct  sale  of  goods  and  services  over  television  to  children. 


 V-  Chip/  Ratings.  I  am  also  pleased  that  the  Commission  recently  asked  for  public  comment  on  how  the  Commission  can  ensure  that  V-  chip  functionality  is  available  in  the 
 digital  world.  But  I  want  to  ensure  not  only  that  the  V-  chip  continues  to  work,  but  that  we  are  able  to  benefit  from  our  experience  with  the  current  ratings  system.  Closed  V-  chip 
 technology,  which  is  part  of  many  analog  television  sets,  is  unable  to  identify  any  changes  that  may  be  made  to  the  existing  ratings  system,  whereas  an  open  V-  chip 
 technology  would  allow  television  sets  to  recognize  future  modifications.  Recognizing  that  the  ability  to  adjust  the  content  advisory  system  is  beneficial,  the  Commission 
 recently  sought  comment  on  how  it  could  ensure  that  flexibility  is  maintained  in  any  digital  television  standard  that  we  adopt. 


 There  is  no  doubt  that  as  children  become  more  sophisticated  in  their  use  of  technology,  all  of  us  --  parents,  teachers,  researchers,  elected  and  appointed  officials  -- 
 must  redouble  our  efforts  to  ensure  we  can  adequately  supervise  and  direct  our  children’s  television  viewing. 
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