V-chip technology was a type of technology born out of the television rating system. The television rating system was created in 1997 by congress and the FCC. The rating system was designed to help parents protect their children from inappropriate media influence through television viewing. The V-chip was designed to help parents take advantage of the television rating system.
The V-chip is known as the viewer chip. The V-chip is mandatory in every television produced after the year 2000. It is an electronic way to control what is being viewed, even when parents cannot be present. Let’s face it, we all have busy lives. Parents simply cannot be present every time their children are viewing television content. The viewer chip helps parents to control what their children are viewing even while not present.
The V-chip interprets a code transmitted by the broadcast station. The V-chip sends a signal to the TV denying access to any program with a rating above what the parent has programmed is acceptable. The television will show a blank screen with the words “unauthorized to receive”.
Just because the viewer chip technology is available in television sets doesn’t mean it has to be used. It has to be enabled just like closed captioning. If it’s not programmed to be used, it simply will not take effect.
Parents can over ride the ratings as well. If a parent wants to watch a show with a higher rating than what is programmed, they can enter a code to access the show and disable the viewer chip.
The viewer chip is a great tool parents can utilize to control the type of programming being viewed by their children even when they are not at home. It does have some critics though; anti censorship groups and the ACCLU have criticized the V chip saying it gives the control of what people watch on television to the government. Television owners must decide if it’s appropriate for their use.