....It's Super V Chip!

Here's the latest brilliant idea from Congress about how to protect our children from seeing inappropriate content via a variety of technology: a super V-chip that could screen content on all kinds of screens, including cell phones and computers as well as TVs.

So here's a question: Are you even using the V-chip embedded in your TVs?  The 1996 Telecommunications Act directed TV manufacturers to place a V-chip in televisions to allow parents to block content according to a rating system. The V stands for violence, and the chip is actually software that blocks programs set off-limits because of their ratings by the television user. A 2004 Kaiser Family Foundation study found that while a majority of parents use ratings to help guide their children away from inappropriate content, only 15 percent of parents had used the V-chip.

Now, there is no such thing as a Super V-chip just yet, but the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation this week that directs the Federal Communications Commission to oversee the development of one. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who sponsored the Child Safe Viewing Act, argues the new law is necessary since content is no longer confined to TV and radio.

While that's clearly true, is a mega V-chip the answer? I don't think so. V-chips haven't been terribly effective where they are easiest to use—on TVs. I can't see parents who haven't figure out if they want to use it or how to use it doing so on smaller devices like cell phones. What do you think? Are you using V-chip technology and would you like to see it extended to all the screens your kids see?

LINK: It's super v-chip to the rescue of kids [Reuters]