The V-Chip Debate

The V-chip is a part of the discussion about whether television (or broadcasting in general) deserves some special attention in terms of its accessibility to children, its particular power to affect conduct, and its invasiveness. But as this notion of filtering and labelling has caught the imagination of the regulator, the legislator, and all those who wish to consider new ways to alter bargaining over imagery in society, the very "idea" of the V-chip or its equivalent is moving across other technologies, including the Internet. The V-chip issue is also involved in the ongoing debate about violence and sexual practices in society, and how representations on television relate to those practices. Among the questions the contributors address are: what research basis is necessary to require a framework for labelling and rating?; what relationship between government and the image-producing industries can be characterized - for constitutional and other reasons - as voluntary as opposed to coercive?; who should evaluate these images?; to what extent should the evaluation process be centralized and/or distributed?; and what assessment is appropriate to evaluate whether the experiment is "successful"? In addition to the V-chip's origins in Canada and its evolution in the United States, this book discusses the development of the V-chip and television rating systems in Europe, Australia and throughout the world. It also includes essays which contrast the very different approaches in Canada and the United States in terms of the role of regulatory agency, industry and government.