Upton Comments on Images Kids See on the Screen
Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), ranking Republican of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, made the following statement at this morning's subcommittee hearing on the "Images Kids See on the Screen."
Upton's full opening statement is provided:
Good morning. Today's hearing is entitled: "Images Kids See on the Screen." Without a doubt, television and movies wield tremendous influence on the children of America.
It seems as a society we are much quicker to lay blame for our ills rather than acknowledging our own foibles. We have drifted away from personal responsibility. As a parent of two teenagers, I firmly believe that the primary responsibility for the health and well being of our children lies with parents - not the media. Kids get fat from what they eat, not what they see. They stay fit by what they do - or rather don't do. Additional government regulation can NOT cure childhood obesity or keep children from smoking. Let's not forget, who's ultimately responsible for what children watch and for how long - parents. The master of the clicker must be the adult not the child in the household.
In terms of children's programming, I particularly want to commend the Kellogg Company and Kraft Foods for their leadership on voluntarily restricting marketing practices to children. Kellogg's and Kraft continue to be a leader on so many fronts, and I'm proud to represent a number of their fine employees in my district. It should be noted that the industry as a whole is involved in a large collaborative effort, the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. This is a voluntary program founded in Nov 2006 by 10 food company members representing over 2/3 of the advertising devoted to kids. It is administered and monitored by the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), which also oversees CARU, the self-regulatory children's advertising program for all child advertising, not just food. Kellogg's Child Nutrition and Advertising initiative is their pledge under this program. I expect that when all the pledges from the participating companies are in later this summer, we will benefit greatly from viewing the collective impact of that voluntary Initiative as a whole.
The quest for solutions concerning kids programming has led some down the wrong path. Some have mistakenly suggested that choosing channels "a la carte" is a solution. WRONG. "A la Parents" is THE answer. For example, with their "Control Your TV" and "TV-Boss" campaigns, along with other technologies, the cable industry has made giant leaps in educating parents on the technology available to block ANY content they deem inappropriate. Parents can block a whole channel or block by content ratings.
Chairman Markey's "V-Chip" works the same way for broadcast television. This way parents are empowered to decide what's best for their family to view on TV. Cable operators and programmers should be commended for the work they've done and continue to do in this area.
Our Broadcasters should be commended as well. Since my bill increasing the fines that the FCC can levy against broadcasters for indecency was signed into law, the race to the bottom has ended and there has been a reduction in the smut that was permeating the public airwaves. Broadcasters across the nation got the message and now think twice about pushing the envelope. Violating decency standards are no longer merely viewed as a cost of doing business. This law provides parents a little more comfort when their children turn on the TV or radio during the hours of 6:00am to 10:00pm.
I do not understand why some folks believe this is an arena for government regulation particularly as the private sector continues to make meaningful progress, not because they're forced to but as a matter of good policy. The best remedy comes from the industries self-regulating. Let's look at one example. Viacom's Nickelodeon, a leader in kid's programming, has been licensing its characters for use on packages of fruits and vegetables to encourage healthy eating habits since 2005. Nickelodeon also licenses its characters for sports equipment and has committed more than $30 million and 10% of its airtime to its "Let's Just Go Play Healthy Challenge" multi-media campaign that focuses on health and wellness messaging for kids. Once a year the network also ceases programming and puts a message on the screen suggesting kids go out and play. In addition, Nickelodeon continues to play an active role in the Media and Childhood Obesity Task Force. The goal of the Task Force is to provide a forum for the public and private sectors to examine what impact the media has on childhood obesity rates and to collaborate on voluntary recommendations to address the issue.
Industry should be a loyal partner in the wellness of our kids, not an adversary as we look for viable solutions. Rather than seeking to place blame, we should all be searching for ways to improve the situation and encourage our kids and parents to lead healthier lives.
I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses - especially my good friend and former boss Mary Sophos -- on this important topic, and I appreciate them being here to help us examine it.