Green

AT LEAST one regulatory body wants the Government to introduce new legislation to protect the nation's children from adult content on social Internet websites, such as YouTube and MySpace.

The Broadcasting Commission is expected to submit a raft of recommendations on the issue for review by the minister with responsibility for information and telecommunications, Daryl Vaz.

Strong position

"In the significant research that is to be undertaken to inform the new law, we are putting forward a very strong position that you have to regulate content across all platforms, underscoring new media, which would include the Internet and many of the social sites to which our children have easy access, the MySpace the YouTube ..." Cordel Green, executive director of the commission said yesterday.

Green was making a presentation to the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament in Gordon House.

He was responding to concerns raised by committee member Ronald Thwaites, who questioned what the regulatory agency was doing to ensure that children were protected from X-rated content on cable.

Thwaites said two educators had informed him that basic school children who were exposed to adult content were making explicit sexual references to their teachers.

CHANGE PACKAGING

"What is the Broad-casting Commission doing to ensure that our children are not exposed to this ... poisonous content on cable?" Thwaites asked.

Green said the commission has insisted that adult and X-rated channels, including movie channels, must not be packaged with other stations offering 'G'-rated or 'PG'-rated programming.

He said the regulatory body has made it clear that subscribers must be informed about the nature of the channels available and be given the tools to regulate them.

Green told the committee that the commission would increase its public-education programme to provide additional information to the public on the issue.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com