Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007

by the 110th Congress of the United States

110^TH UNITED STATES CONGRESS
2^ND SESSION

An Act
To develop the next generation of parental control technology.

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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 `Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. EXAMINATION OF ADVANCED BLOCKING TECHNOLOGIES AND EXISTING PARENTAL EMPOWERMENT TOOLS.

(a) Inquiry Required—

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall initiate a notice of inquiry to consider measures to examine—

(1) the existence and availability of advanced blocking technologies that are compatible with various communications devices or platforms;

(2) methods of encouraging the development, deployment, and use of such technology by parents that do not affect the packaging or pricing of a content provider's offering; and

(3) the existence, availability, and use of parental empowerment tools and initiatives already in the market.

(b) Content of Proceeding—

In conducting the inquiry required under subsection (a), the Commission shall consider advanced blocking technologies that—

(1) may be appropriate across a wide variety of distribution platforms, including wired, wireless, and Internet platforms;

(2) may be appropriate across a wide variety of devices capable of transmitting or receiving video or audio programming, including television sets, DVD players, VCRs, cable set top boxes, satellite receivers, and wireless devices;

(3) can filter language based upon information in closed captioning;

(4) operate independently of ratings pre-assigned by the creator of such video or audio programming; and

(5) may be effective in enhancing the ability of a parent to protect his or her child from indecent or objectionable programming, as determined by such parent.

(c) Reporting—

Not later than 270 days after the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue a report to Congress detailing any findings resulting from the inquiry required under subsection (a).

(d) Definition—

In this section, the term `advanced blocking technologies' means technologies that can improve or enhance the ability of a parent to protect his or her child from any indecent or objectionable video or audio programming, as determined by such parent, that is transmitted through the use of wire, wireless, or radio communication.