A win for families: The FCC is making TV ratings matter again
Parents, not networks, should decide what kinds of programming their children watch, which is why ratings exist. But a rating system that withholds material facts about its content is no longer a reliable filter — it is a blindfold.
TL;DR
- Parents should decide what their children watch, and TV ratings are intended to aid this decision.
- The TV Parental Guidelines use codes like V, L, S, and D to indicate content, but these are assigned by a board largely made up of network and studio representatives.
- The FCC is examining if the current rating system provides truthful information to parents.
- A specific concern is that shows with transgender and gender non-binary programming are being rated without this information being disclosed to parents.