Thursday, January 25, 2007

Net-related curbs for kid TV

TV shows and channels whose audiences are children 12 and under can no longer show the Web addresses of "sites that contain any links to commercial content," CNET reports. Just exactly what that means is kind of complicated, apparently. "Never mind that recent visits to NickJr.com and Noggin.com, online properties of kid networks, turned up more advertisements for Tylenol cold medicine and Nissan minivans than for anything youth-targeted," according to CNET. It says even some children's advocates say the TV shows themselves are pretty ad-like, displaying "the toys and edible goodies endorsed by their stars." But the new rules, which went into effect January 2, are meant to keep broadcasters from using children's shows as billboards for Web sites that are just interactive ads, so the FCC's heart seems to be in the right place. Read the article for details but not a lot of clarity.

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