Critics: FCC not policing kids' TV

TV watchdog groups say the Federal Communications Commission needs to better target kids’ programs that have too many commercials, and they want the commission and Congress to strengthen oversight of the Children’s Television Act.

Fueling the drive is a Government Accountability Office report issued last week that highlights FCC shortcomings in enforcing the landmark 1990 law intended to raise the quality and educational value of children’s programming while also limiting advertising. The report said the FCC has been lax in ensuring compliance from cable and satellite providers and questioned the commission’s guidelines for determining the educational value of children’s shows. “It’s another example of FCC priorities being out of whack and the entire commission not taking its responsibility to uphold the law seriously,” said Dan Isett, director of public policy for the Parents Television Council, a nonprofit group dedicated to responsible entertainment. “When you look at the sort of selective enforcement on this issue … it’s an indictment of the entire agency.” Aside from parent and child advocacy groups, the FCC is also drawing criticism from one of the original authors of the law, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA). He called the FCC’s enforcement of the law in some areas “weak.”