Edward Markey

Edward Markey was the primary congressional sponsor of the 1996 law that requires new television sets (within a few years of its enactment) to be equipped with V-chips—devices that can block out designated broadcasts. In the following viewpoint, Markey, a member of Congress representing Massachusetts, asserts that the law does not threaten to create a system of government censorship. The ratings system devised to work in conjunction with the V-chip was created by the television industry, not by the government, he argues, and simply provides a way of giving parents greater information and consumer choice. He contends that the V-chip simply empowers parents to control their children’s television viewing. The legislation does not curtail the rights of television programmers to produce violent or sexual programming, Markey asserts, or the rights...