Protecting the Minds of Our Nation's Youth: Sex, Violence, and the 1996 Telecommunications Bill

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1998
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
As I completed the research for this thesis, one truth became obvious: children, for the most part, are highly impressionable individuals. Whether scientific research can prove it or not, sex and violence affect children. In the digital age, sex and violence are prevalent in two of children's favorite entertainment mediums, television and the Internet. Parents, on the whole, do pay attention to and take responsibility for the activities of their children, but busy schedules and changing technology make these tasks difficult. It is for this reason that government safe-guards designed to protect children from the harms of television and the Internet are necessary. This is not to say that the government should censor language that falls under the protection of the First Amendment. Children are the future of this nation and should be protected, but not at the expense of anyone's freedom of speech. The 1996 Telecommunications Bill is a valid government attempt to protect our nation's children without infringing upon our First Amendment rights. Although the Communications Decency Act within this massive bill failed the constitutional test, the Parental Choice in Television Programming Act illustrates that industry self-regulation under governmental influence can be a potentially successful means of protecting children from the harms of sex and violence. Parents, Congress, and communications industries must work together to ensure a safer, healthier future of America.
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