I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2738 

To empower parents to protect children from increasing depictions of indecent 

material on television. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 15, 2007 

Mr. LIPINSKI (for himself, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. SHULER, and Mr. 

ADERHOLT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To empower parents to protect children from increasing 

depictions of indecent material on television. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family and Consumer 

5 Choice Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Subscription television services have estab9 lished a pervasive presence in the lives of Americans, 

10 including American children. Over 80 percent of 

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1 American households subscribe to multi-channel 

2 video programming. Approximately 58 percent of all 

3 households subscribe to cable television service, and 

4 approximately 25 percent subscribe to direct broad5 cast satellite (in this section referred to as ‘‘DBS’’) 

6 service. Of those subscribing to cable service, 88 per7 cent subscribe to expanded basic service, while just 

8 12 percent subscribe only to basic service. Approxi9 mately fewer than half of American households sub10 scribing to cable receive digital cable service. 

11 (2) The substantial majority of American chil12 dren have access to multi-channel video program13 ming in their home. Approximately 74 percent of 

14 children from ages 2 through 18 live in homes with 

15 cable or DBS service, and 78 percent of children 

16 under the age of 7 live in homes with such service. 

17 Of those homes with children subscribing to cable 

18 service, the vast majority subscribe to expanded 

19 basic cable service. Approximately 20,900,000 house20 holds with children subscribe to expanded basic cable 

21 service, while just 2,900,000 households with chil22 dren subscribe only to basic cable service. 

23 (3) American children, on average, spend a sig24 nificant part of their day watching television, includ25 ing cable programming. According to Nielsen Media 

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1 Research, children ages 2 through 11 watch an aver2 age of 3 hours and 15 minutes of television per day, 

3 and children ages 12 through 17 watch an average 

4 of 3 hours, 7 minutes of television per day. Children 

5 in homes with subscriptions to multi-channel video 

6 programming watch, on average, about 67 percent 

7 more television than children in homes with only 

8 broadcast television service. 

9 (4) Many adults and most children do not dis10 tinguish between broadcast channels and cable chan11 nels. Rather, they view them as interchangeable and 

12 regularly switch between these types of channels. 

13 (5) Children often watch television in the ab14 sence of parental supervision. For example, many 

15 children watch television when they are home alone 

16 after school while their parents are still at work, and 

17 many children watch television at friends’ houses 

18 when their own parents are not present. A Kaiser 

19 Family Foundation report in March 2005 found that 

20 68 percent of children ages 8 through 18 have a tel21 evision set in their bedroom, and 37 percent have 

22 subscription multi-channel video service in their bed23 rooms. Furthermore, according to the Department 

24 of Education, 81 percent of children ages 2 through 

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1 vision. Additionally, a 2003 Kaiser Family Founda2 tion White Paper found that 91 percent of children 

3 ages 4 through 6 have turned on the television by 

4 themselves. 

5 (6) Multichannel video programming distribu6 tors, such as cable and DBS operators, are critical 

7 sources of video programming, such as public affairs 

8 programming, news programming and educational 

9 programming, which is not duplicated by broadcast 

10 television. Cable operators on average offer 25 chan11 nels in their basic tier of programming and approxi12 mately 45 additional channels in their expanded 

13 basic tier. Cable channels offering educational, infor14 mational, or entertainment programming that is ap15 propriate for or attractive to children are generally 

16 included on the same expanded basic tier as chan17 nels offering programming that is sexually explicit. 

18 Parents are generally not given the choice of only 

19 purchasing channels that carry programming that is 

20 appropriate for children. 

21 (7) Indecent programming on channels carried 

22 on extended basic cable service is pervasive. Sexually 

23 explicit material is shown more than twice as often 

24 in original cable programming than in broadcast 

25 programming. 

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1 (8) Complaints about indecent cable program2 ming have increased exponentially in recent years. In 

3 2004, the Federal Communications Commission re4 ceived 700 percent more cable indecency complaints 

5 than it received in 2003. 

6 (9) Parents are concerned that indecent pro7 gramming is being aired on cable channels viewed by 

8 children. A Kaiser Family Foundation White Paper 

9 has found that most parents believe cable program10 ming should be subject to the same indecency rules 

11 as broadcast television. In addition, during the first 

12 half of 2005, the Federal Communications Commis13 sion received 10 or more complaints about alleged 

14 indecency or obscenity on 20 different cable net15 works. Of these 20 cable networks, 15 rank in the 

16 top 25 cable networks watched by children ages 2 

17 through 11 during prime time, and 17 rank in the 

18 top 25 networks watched by children ages 12 

19 through 17 during prime time. Most of the cable 

20 programs about which indecency complaints have 

21 been filed with the Federal Communications Com22 mission aired during hours when many children are 

23 watching television. 

24 (10) Because subscribers to multichannel video 

25 programming and their children often ‘‘channelmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 surf’’ to find out what is on television, they are sus2 ceptible to unexpected exposure to unwanted con3 tent. Cable subscribers on average use their remote 

4 control to sample more channels before choosing a 

5 program than do those viewers who only receive 

6 over-the-air broadcasting, thus making cable sub7 scribers more susceptible to being confronted by un8 wanted material. According to a study conducted in 

9 2002 by the Cable Television Administration & Mar10 keting Society, over 60 percent of cable subscribers 

11 use their remote controls to ‘‘channel-surf,’’ that is, 

12 to find out what is on television. Moreover, approxi13 mately 75 percent of children of ages 4 through 6 

14 have changed channels using a remote control ac15 cording to a 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation White 

16 Paper. 

17 (11) The ‘‘v-chip’’ does not effectively protect 

18 children from indecent programming carried by mul19 tichannel video programming distributors. According 

20 to a 2004 Survey by Knowledge Networks SRI, most 

21 of the television sets currently in use in the United 

22 States are not equipped with a v-chip, and of the 

23 280,000,000 sets currently in United States house24 holds, approximately 161,000,000 are not equipped 

25 with a v-chip. Households that have a television set 

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1 with a v-chip are also likely to have 1 or more sets 

2 that are not equipped with a v-chip, as found in a 

3 2005 Broadcasting & Cable TVFAX article. 

4 (12) The ability to block channels pursuant to 

5 sections 624(d)(2) and 640 of the Communications 

6 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 624(d)(2); 640) does not ef7 fectively protect children from indecent program8 ming carried by multichannel video programming 

9 distributors. 

10 (13) A host of practical obstacles, including 

11 long waits and blocking failures, currently frustrate 

12 parents who attempt to rely on such options. This 

13 is especially true for those cable subscribers who do 

14 not have digital cable service. 

15 (14) Because of the manner in which multi16 channel video programming distributors currently 

17 bundle channels, most multichannel video program18 ming subscribers currently receive and pay for nu19 merous channels that they do not watch. According 

20 to Nielsen Media Research, for example, households 

21 receiving more than 70 networks only watch, on av22 erage, about 17 of these networks. 

23 (15) While multichannel video programming 

24 distributors currently provide subscribers with a va25 riety of methods of blocking the audio and video promstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 gramming of any channel that they do not wish to 

2 receive, such distributors generally do not offer the 

3 subscriber a credit on account of such blocked chan4 nel. Thus, subscribers must pay for channels in5 cluded in programming tiers even if they are blocked 

6 at the request of the subscriber. 

7 (16) For those adults seeking to view program8 ming for mature audiences, there are many sources 

9 of such programming on premium tiers currently of10 fered by multichannel video programming distribu11 tors. HBO and Showtime, for example, are offered 

12 by the vast majority of cable and DBS services, and 

13 both programmers carry content that is more sexu14 ally explicit than what is available on broadcast 

15 channels. At least 98 percent of all cable systems 

16 offer premium channels and 43 percent of cable tele17 vision households subscribe to 1 or more premium 

18 channels. 

19 (17) Parents need more effective ways to limit 

20 the exposure of children to television with harmful 

21 content by being able to purchase cable program22 ming that only contains programming that is child23 friendly. 

24 (18) The efforts to limit the exposure of chil25 dren to harmful television content have not been 

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1 successful because Federal regulatory agencies have 

2 not had the authority to require cable and satellite 

3 providers to offer programming that only contains 

4 programming that is child-friendly. Therefore, legis5 lation is necessary to give Federal regulatory agen6 cies the authority to combat this problem. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 602 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

9 U.S.C. 522) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘For purposes of this title—’’ 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title—’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—In this title, the 

16 following definitions shall apply: 

17 ‘‘(1) EXPANDED BASIC TIER.—The term ‘ex18 panded basic tier’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means the tier of channels offered by 

20 a multichannel video programming distributor 

21 that is most frequently subscribed to by the 

22 subscribers of such distributor other than the 

23 basic service tier; and 

24 ‘‘(B) includes channels offered in such 

25 basic service tier. 

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1 ‘‘(2) FAMILY TIER OF PROGRAMMING.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘family tier 

3 of programming’ means a tier of channels of4 fered by a multichannel video programming dis5 tributor that— 

6 ‘‘(i) includes all channels offered on 

7 the expanded basic tier of such distributor; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) does not include those channels 

10 offered on such expanded basic tier that 

11 carry programs that are rated TV–14 or 

12 TV–MA under the TV Parental Guidelines, 

13 as such ratings were approved by the Com14 mission in implementation of section 551 

15 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 

16 Video Programming Ratings, Report and 

17 Order, CS Docket No. 97–55, 13 F.C.C. 

18 Rcd. 8232 (1998)), between— 

19 ‘‘(I) the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 

20 p.m., in the Eastern or Pacific Time 

21 Zones; or 

22 ‘‘(II) the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 

23 p.m., in the Central or Mountain 

24 Time Zones. 

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1 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO MOD2 IFY DEFINITION.—The Commission, by rule, 

3 may modify the definition in subparagraph 

4 (A)— 

5 ‘‘(i) if the TV Parental Guidelines de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) are modified; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(ii) to better effectuate the purposes 

9 of this Act, including to protect children 

10 from indecent and profane video program11 ming. 

12 ‘‘(3) MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING

13 SERVICE.—The term ‘multichannel video program14 ming service’ means any video programming service 

15 provided by a multichannel video programming dis16 tributor. 

17 ‘‘(4) THEMED TIER OF CHANNELS.—The term 

18 ‘themed tier of channels’ means a tier of channels— 

19 ‘‘(A) in which each channel in such tier of20 fers programming in the same genre as the 

21 other channels, such as a package of sports 

22 channels or premium movie channels; and 

23 ‘‘(B) that are offered by a multichannel 

24 video programming distributor for subscription 

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1 separately from other channels or tiers of chan2 nels.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM INDECENT VIDEO 

4 PROGRAMMING. 

5 Part IV of title VI of the Communications Act of 

6 1934 (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

7 the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 642. PROVISION OF PROGRAMMING SUITABLE FOR 

9 CHILDREN BY MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PRO10 GRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS. 

11 ‘‘(a) RULEMAKING.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this section, the Com14 mission shall initiate and conclude a rulemaking to 

15 adopt measures to protect children from indecent 

16 video programming carried by a multichannel video 

17 programming distributor. 

18 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CONTENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) OBLIGATIONS OF MVPD’S.—The rules 

20 adopted under paragraph (1) shall require a 

21 multichannel video programming distributor to 

22 do one of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) In accordance with the indecency 

24 and profanity policies and standards ap25 plied by the Commission to broadcasters, 

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1 as such policies and standards are modi2 fied from time to time, not transmit any 

3 material that is indecent or profane on any 

4 channel in the expanded basic tier of such 

5 distributor between— 

6 ‘‘(I) the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 

7 p.m., in the Eastern or Pacific Time 

8 Zones; or 

9 ‘‘(II) the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 

10 p.m., in the Central or Mountain 

11 Time Zones. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Fully scramble or otherwise fully 

13 block, without charge, the audio and video 

14 programming on any channel that a sub15 scriber does not wish to receive, except 

16 that such distributor— 

17 ‘‘(I) may not block— 

18 ‘‘(aa) a channel required to 

19 be on the basic tier of such dis20 tributor pursuant to section 

21 623(b)(7)(A); or 

22 ‘‘(bb) any equivalent channel 

23 on a direct broadcast satellite 

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1 channel video programming serv2 ice. 

3 ‘‘(II) May not be required to 

4 block— 

5 ‘‘(aa) video programming of6 fered on a per-channel or per7 program basis; or 

8 ‘‘(bb) video programming on 

9 a themed tier of channels, unless 

10 a subscriber does not subscribe to 

11 such channel, program, or tier. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Allow a subscriber to subscribe 

13 to a family tier of programming. 

14 ‘‘(B) ELECTION OF MVPD’S.—The rules 

15 adopted under paragraph (1) shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) require a multichannel video pro17 gramming distributor to notify in writing, 

18 on an annual basis— 

19 ‘‘(I) the Commission as to which 

20 option described in clauses (i) through 

21 (iii) of subparagraph (A) such dis22 tributor elects to follow; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the subscribers of such dis24 tributor as to which option described 

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1 graph (A) such distributor elects to 

2 follow; 

3 ‘‘(ii) allow, on an annual basis, each 

4 multichannel video programming dis5 tributor to change the election made by 

6 such distributor under clause (i). 

7 ‘‘(C) SCRAMBLING OPTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The rules adopted 

9 under paragraph (1) shall require each 

10 multichannel video programming dis11 tributor that elects to follow the option de12 scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii) to— 

13 ‘‘(I) give any subscriber who 

14 elects to block any channel included in 

15 any service tier to which such sub16 scriber subscribes a credit on the 

17 monthly bill of such subscriber for 

18 such blocked channel in an amount 

19 equal to the amount that such dis20 tributor pays for the right to provide 

21 such blocked channel to such sub22 scriber, calculated in accordance with 

23 clause (ii); and 

24 ‘‘(II) provide, at least on an an25 nual basis, to each subscriber commstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 prehensive written information con2 cerning the amount of any credit that 

3 such subscriber would receive under 

4 subclause (I), if such subscriber elect5 ed to exercise such subscriber’s right 

6 to block a particular channel included 

7 in any service tier to which such sub8 scriber subscribes. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CALCULATION OF CREDIT.—The 

10 credit described in clause (i)(I) shall be 

11 calculated as follows: 

12 ‘‘(I) If a multichannel video pro13 gramming distributor pays a fee per 

14 subscriber for the right to provide a 

15 channel to the subscribers of such dis16 tributor, then the amount of such 

17 credit shall be equal to the amount of 

18 such per subscriber fee. 

19 ‘‘(II) If a multichannel video pro20 gramming distributor pays a fixed 

21 amount for the right to provide a 

22 channel to all or a specified number of 

23 subscribers of such distributor, then 

24 the amount of such credit shall be 

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1 equal to an allocable share of such 

2 fixed amount. 

3 ‘‘(III) If a multichannel video 

4 programming distributor does not pay 

5 for the right to provide a channel to 

6 the subscribers of such distributor, 

7 then a subscriber shall not be entitled 

8 to receive a credit under clause (i)(I). 

9 ‘‘(IV) If the subscriber elects to 

10 block, under clause (i)(I), the channel 

11 of any nonprofit network, the sub12 scriber shall not be entitled to any 

13 credit under this subparagraph. 

14 ‘‘(D) FAMILY TIER OPTIONS.—The rules 

15 adopted under paragraph (1) shall require each 

16 multichannel video programming distributor 

17 that elects to follow the option described in sub18 paragraph (A)(iii) to allow a subscriber to the 

19 digital service offered by such distributor to ob20 tain the family tier of programming for 1 or 

21 more of the video reception devices of such sub22 scriber, while at the same time obtaining other 

23 service tiers for other video reception devices of 

24 such subscriber. 

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1 ‘‘(b) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this section, 

2 or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, 

3 is held to be unlawful, the remaining portions of this sec4 tion not deemed unlawful shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) not be affected thereby; and 

6 ‘‘(2) remain in effect to the fullest extent per7 mitted by law.’’. 

Æ 

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