THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE BROADCASTING Commission has taken note of letters that were published in The Gleaner on April 6 and April 13, which propose a total ban on transmission of X-rated channels on cable television in Jamaica.
The specific proposal emanates from an observed breakdown in parenting in many homes, which the commission agrees is contributing to a heightened risk of exposure of children to content that can harm them.
The commission, as the regulatory body for electronic media, could not act in the way proposed unless given such a mandate by law, particularly as total bans on certain types of content impose restraints on civil liberty. The current provisions in law for electronic media do not imbue the commission with the authority to, in essence, censor the media. However, the existing standards do require special treatment of adult content, such as encryption, as in the case of X-rated channels.
COMMISSION STILL ASSESSING
For the benefit of Ms. Foote, who seeks clarification about what section of the law permits cable companies to offer X-rated channels, such permission can be inferred from the Television and Sound Broadcasting Regulations, 1996. The commission has even ventured further to require additional legal standards, especially as stated in the Children's Code for Programming, which make it clear that access must not be readily available to children.
In a media landscape of 19 radio stations, three television stations and over 50 cable companies, there is a continuing effort by the commission to assess the adequacy of existing controls and compliance of all licensees with the law. The requirement for a large number of cable operators to have in place addressable systems or similar technology that are capable of filtering content by September 2006 is just one direct outcome of this process. Another outcome is the commission's ongoing sensitisation of broadcast professionals about children and media and the application of the Children's Code during workshops held in their workplaces. More information about efforts to improve compliance is contained in the Investigation Report for 2005, which is available on the commission's website at www.broadcom.org.
FALSE COMFORT
Whether censorship, rather than regulation of adult content, should be adopted, given Jamaica's social realities, is rightly a matter for public discourse, and of course decision by the relevant policymakers, in this case the Minister of Information. The Broadcasting Commission would only point out that in the present age, methods such as total bans on one medium may be false comfort given advances in digital technology, which makes access to content easier and more available on a wide array of platforms, e.g., cellphones and iPods. This is why the commission considers co-regulation with the licensed media, coupled with widespread media literacy training involving parents and children, as the more sustainable approach.
Even as the commission makes every effort to fully enforce and enhance current standards, it looks forward to further dialogue on this issue.
I am, etc.,
SONIA GILL
Executive Director (Actg.)
Broadcasting Commission
