Glossary

Glossary

ACLU
The ACLU’s official name is The American Civil Liberties Union. Ever since it was founded by Rodger Baldwin in 1920, it has worked for individuals rights in the United States. It is a non-profit group that exists solely to make sure that people’s rights are protected by the laws and not violated.

Aggressive
violent, prepared to attack another person or thing

Censorship
to look at a TV program, written material, artwork, etc. and decide if it's content is appropriate for everyone to view and blocking that content

Desensitization
when something disturbing becomes so common it no longer shocks or bothers you

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
A board consisting of seven members, charged with regulating interstate, broadcasting, and communication by wire, radio, and television.

First Amendment
The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights states that the people of America have the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly

Objectionable content
programs that contain offensive or disturbing material

Technology
using science to solve a problem

Telecommunications Act of 1996
a very large law that was intended to change the way in which all media will work. Specifically, Section 551 deals with the V-Chip and requires that a committee come up with a rating system for all television programs.

V-Chip
an electronic chip that works with your television. It reads television rating information which is encoded by the broadcaster's signal. It can be programmed to censor objectionable content based on these ratings.

Voluntary
proceeding from the will or one’s own choices