Washington Focus
Childproofing the Marketplace
Daniel L. JaffeANA Washington Office
FALLOUT
Advertisers face a serious new threat — the sweeping effort to “childproof” speech in our society. Janet Jackson's “wardrobe malfunction” has created major political fallout.
Across the political spectrum, policymakers and advocacy groups are characterizing a wide-range of speech as seriously harmful to minors. Furthermore, these harmful categories no longer solely relate to age-sensitive products like tobacco and alcohol. Now these attacks are rapidly expanding to various food products and even violent programming.
Government leaders are responding aggressively. The Federal Communications Commission, for example, imposed major fines against...