The FCC is opening an inquiry into its children's TV rules, according to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, speaking at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. He said the wealth of new digital
media outlets justified re-opening the Children's Television Act, which was passed in 1990.
But Genachowski also said that broadcasting remains an "essential medium" and that it was
still "uniquely accessible to all Americans," a phrase that echoes one of the Supreme Court's justifications for broadcast content regulation.
The phrasing is important because
broadcasters have recently ramped up their argument that given all those media choices Genachowski cited, the uniqueness of TV access has been lessened or even mooted. The FCC chief seems to
disagree, "Responsibility to enforce the Act with respect to broadcast licensees remains vital...and essential," he told the committee.
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