Senate to Look at Impact of Indecency on Kids

Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller says he
will make studying the impact of indecent media on children one of his key
priorities in the new Congress.

That came in a list of those priorities released Wednesday.
Also on the list, as expected, is studying the impact of violent media on kids.
He has introduced a bill to that effect in the wake of the Newtown mass shooting.

Also on the list of priorities are 1) overseeing the
emergency communications network he motormanned and which is being funded
through broadcast incentive auctions; 2) closing the digital divide for both
wired and wireless broadband and in schools and via E-rate; and 3) safeguarding
consumer privacy, including "an investigation into the business practices
of companies that collect and sell consumer data."

"I am confident that this Committee, with its long
history of bipartisan cooperation, can take on these priorities to make a
meaningful difference in the lives of all Americans," Rockefeller said in
a statement.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.