Takano, Schakowsky Lead 68 Members in Opposing FCC Censorship of Trans Characters & Topics
Washington, DC — In response to the Federal Communications Commission request for comments about the TV Parental Guidelines, which asked if TV shows with transgender topics or characters should receive higher ratings or contain content warnings, Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39) and CEC Member and Energy and Commerce Committee member Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) led 68 Members of Congress in submitting a letter opposing these efforts.
Members begin their letter:
“We write in response to your questions regarding TV ratings and programs that include gender identity themes or topics and to strongly oppose efforts to censor the inclusion of transgender characters or topics, including by rating programming differently just because it includes transgender people.
We strongly believe that parents should decide what their children watch on television. That is why Congress […] gave the Federal Communications Commission conditional authority to “prescribe…guidelines and recommended procedures for the identification and rating of video programming that contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material about which parents should be informed before it is displayed to children..."
The Members’ letter highlights how current FCC standards are satisfactory and overwhelmingly popular among parents:
“This provision reflected Congress’ desire that parents have the tools to make informed decisions about what their children watch based on whether a program includes sexual, violent, or indecent materials. This conditional authority also reflected a preference for industry to self-regulate— and that’s what happened […] The current guidelines have worked for decades and provide parents with the tools they need to determine what their children should and should not watch. That is why FCC’s own most recent annual report found only 11 pieces of public correspondence relevant to TVOMB’s work. In fact, 96% of parents expressed satisfaction with the accuracy of the rating system for TV shows overall in a survey conducted by TVOMB in 2024.”
The letter continues:
“Programs should not have higher ratings or content warning simply because of the identity of the programs’ characters. Applying higher ratings or content warnings because of a character’s gender identity would be harmful to transgender people and transgender acceptance and would harken back to a time when politicians sought to censor television programming because they included minorities.
Any attempt by FCC to censor content because it includes transgender characters or topics would raise both legal and constitutional concerns[…] Any attempt to issue rating warnings for depictions and themes related to transgender people would also raise concerns of content-based and viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.”
Members end their letter:
“In conclusion, we urge the FCC to abandon any efforts to seek to impose higher ratings on programs or content warnings because the program includes transgender characters or topics. As FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez stated, “This is a solution in search of a problem, and another example of this Commission prioritizing culture war politics over the real issues that affect consumers every day.”
Read the full letter here.