V-chip is a technology used in television set receivers in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States, that allows the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television viewing based on blocking systems. Televisions manufactured for the United States market since January 2000 are required to have the V-chip technology. Since the idea for blocking programs in this way was patented and tested in Canada by Brett West and John P. Gardner in 1994, many devices using V-chip technology have been produced.
The U.S. President Bill Clinton holding a V-chip in 1996
Parents Television and Media Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers to be responsible, family-friendly content across all media platforms, and for advertisers to be held accountable for the content of television programs that they sponsor. The PTMC officially describes itself as a non-partisan organization, although the group has also been described as partisan and socially conservative.
Steve Allen, former host of The Tonight Show, was PTC's honorary chairman and a member of its advisory board.
L. Brent Bozell III, a conservative political activist, founded the Parents Television and Media Council in 1995.
PTC campaigns led to a great increase in FCC-issued fines and received complaints compared to those from previous years.