Voluntary Alcohol Advertising Standards for Children Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on the basis of recommendations from an advisory committee established by the FCC, to prescribe a code of conduct (code) that limits the exposure and appeal to minors of alcoholic beverage advertisements in video programming, taking into consideration the content, frequency, timing, and program placement of such ads as well as the role of public information messages about the risks of alcohol use by minors. Outlines advisory committee requirements. Provides an antitrust exemption, with limitations, for any action or agreement among persons in the television industry undertaken to develop and disseminate such a voluntary code.
Requires the FCC to prescribe such code within one year after enactment of this Act, unless the television industry has established a voluntary code which is acceptable to the FCC.
Requires the FCC to include in a currently required annual report an assessment of the extent to which a code has been successfully implemented, and complied with, by video programming distributors.
[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1292 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1292
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the establishment
of a voluntary broadcasting code for alcohol advertising, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 10, 1997
Mr. Kennedy of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Hinchey, Mr.
Moran of Virginia, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the establishment
of a voluntary broadcasting code for alcohol advertising, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Voluntary Alcohol Advertising
Standards for Children Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Television advertising influences children's perception
of the values and behavior that are common and acceptable in
society.
(2) Television station operators and cable television
system operators should follow practices in connection with the
advertising of alcoholic beverages that take into consideration
that television broadcast and cable advertising have
established a uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of
American children.
(3) The average American child is exposed to 25 hours of
television each week and some children are exposed to as much
as 11 hours of television a day.
(4) In 1995, alcohol producers, led by brewers, spent
$682,600,000 advertising their products in the broadcast media.
Much of that advertising appeared on sports programming, in
prime time, or at other times when substantial numbers of
underage persons were in the viewing and listening audience.
Many of the themes used in the ads--humor, parties, athletic
pursuits--have great appeal for young people. The most popular
beer ads use animated characters, animals, or music which also
amuse and attract children and teens.
(5) The current advertising codes of brewers and
distillers, even when observed by industry members, provide
inadequate standards to restrain most of the current
advertising messages that reach young people and teach them to
drink. These codes are unenforceable, do not apply to all
alcohol companies, and institutionalize, rather than restrict,
advertising practices that subject young people to massive,
continuous, and persuasive inducements to drink. Although
individual broadcast networks and independent stations have
adopted standards governing the acceptance of advertising for
alcoholic beverages, those standards lack uniformity, do not
apply to all broadcasters, nor do they help shield large
audiences of underage persons from alcohol promotions.
(6) Alcohol producers claim to have no interest in
attracting underage persons, for whom the purchase and use of
their products are illegal. The development of voluntary
broadcast industry alcohol advertising standards to protect
children would avoid broader government restrictions on alcohol
advertising and permit alcohol producers to continue to
legitimately promote their products to adult consumers.
Therefore, enforceable voluntary broadcast standards provide a
minimally restrictive, necessary condition on alcohol producer
marketing activities, one that is consistent with their
business missions and social responsibility.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING
CODES.
Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 337. ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TELEVISION ADVERTISING
CODES.
``(a) Authority To Prescribe Standards.--Except as otherwise
provided by this section, the Commission shall prescribe, on the basis
of recommendations from an advisory committee established by the
Commission, a code of conduct that limits the exposure and appeal to
minors of alcoholic beverage advertisements in video programming,
taking into consideration the content, frequency, timing, and program
placement of such ads, as well as the role of public information
messages about the risks of alcohol use by minors.
``(b) Advisory Committee Requirements.--In establishing an advisory
committee for purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the
Commission shall--
``(1) ensure that such committee is composed of parents,
television broadcasters, cable operators, appropriate public
interest groups, and other interested individuals from the
private sector and is fairly balanced in terms of political
affiliation, the points of view represented, and the functions
to be performed by the committee;
``(2) provide to the committee such staff and resources as
may be necessary to permit it to perform its functions
efficiently and promptly; and
``(3) require the committee to submit a final report of its
recommendations within one year after the date of the
appointment of the initial members.
``(c) Antitrust Exemption.--
``(1) Exemption.--The antitrust laws shall not apply to any
joint discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement
by or among persons in the television industry for the purpose
of, and limited to, developing and disseminating a voluntary
code designed to limit the exposure and appeal to minors of
alcoholic beverage advertisements in video programming.
``(2) Limitations.--The exemption provided in paragraph
(1)--
``(A) shall not apply to any joint discussion,
consideration, review, action, or agreement which
results in a boycott of any person; and
``(B) shall apply only to any joint discussion,
consideration, review, action, or agreement engaged in
only during the 1-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this section.
``(d) Enforcement of Codes by Forfeiture Penalties.--For the
purposes of sections 503 and 504 of this Act, any advertising code
established pursuant to subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall be
considered to be a regulation prescribed by the Commission pursuant to
this Act.
``(e) Applicability of Requirement for Commission To Prescribe
Code.--The requirement of subsection (a) shall take effect 1 year after
the date of enactment of this section, but only if the Commission
determines, in consultation with appropriate public interest groups and
interested individuals from the private sector, that--
``(1) persons in the television industry have not, by such
date, established and implemented a voluntary code of conduct
that limits the exposure and appeal to minors of alcoholic
beverage advertisements in video programming, taking into
consideration the content, frequency, timing, and program
placement of such ads, as well as the role of public
information messages about the risks of alcohol used by minors;
and
``(2) such code is acceptable to the Commission.
``(f) Annual Report.--The Commission shall include in each annual
report pursuant to section 4(k) of this Act submitted after the date of
enactment of this section an assessment of the extent to which a code
established under subsection (a) or (c) of this section has been
successfully implemented, and is rigorously complied with, by
distributors of video programming.
``(g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) The term `antitrust laws' has the meaning given it in
subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15
U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such term includes section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that
such section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition.
``(2) The term `person in the television industry' means a
television network, any entity which produces programming
(including theatrical motion pictures) for telecasting or
telecasts programming, the National Cable Television
Association, the Association of Independent Television
Stations, Incorporated, the National Association of
Broadcasters, the Motion Picture Association of America, the
Community Antenna Television Association, and each of the
networks' affiliate organizations, and shall include any
individual acting on behalf of such person.
``(3) The term `video programming' has the meaning provided
in section 602 of this Act.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
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