Batman dodges the bullets, unharmed. Swooping behind Two Face, he blows him over from the back. "I’ll get you for that!" Two Face struggles to get up after Batman’s violent act. "You’ll pay...with your life!"

Who, you ask yourself, would do this? Many kids who are a lot like you enjoy and are drawn to shows such as The X-Files and Jerry Springer. Nothing could stop young people from seeing or hearing a violent television program if they chose. That is, not until the invention of the V-Chip! The purpose of the chip is to block television shows with inappropriate content or violence. It is meant to be used for children of all ages. When looking for a desired program like Barney or Arthur, they might stumble upon television programs with too much violent content.

The V-Chip was invented for the sole purpose of stopping these young children from watching violent or inappropriate shows on their families’ television sets. The V-chip, or Violence Chip, gives parents the ability to exclude violence or other objectionable material from their television. It is a new technology, much like any computer chip you might have seen. It reads the rating codes given for television shows, interprets them, and compares it to values preset by the parents. It sends a signal to your television giving it instructions to block shows whose ratings exceed these values. For example, if the rating codes were higher for a particular show than the viewer thought was acceptable for their child to watch, the chip would block the show. The screen would display a message telling the viewer that the show could not be seen. If kids try to break the device or disconnect it, the television screen will show the words, "TAMPER".

The television ratings were created by a committee made up of parents, television broadcasters, television programming producers, cable operators, and public interest groups. The ratings will apply to all television programs except for the news, sports, and premium cable channels. The ratings will appear in the left hand corner of your television screen.