WASHINGTON D.C. - The Progress & Freedom Foundation will assemble a group of experts this Friday, May 18, 2007 for a seminar on, "The Complexities of Regulating TV Violence." Prompted by the recently released Federal Communications Commission report regarding the impact of violent programming on children, the panelists will debate whether government regulation is necessary, if it is constitutional, how "excessively violent" content might be defined, and whether parents have the tools and ability to regulate programming in their homes.

The discussion will be moderated by PFF Senior Fellow Adam Thierer, Director of PFF's Center for Digital Media Freedom. Just added to the panel is Robin Bronk, Executive Director of The Creative Coalition, an advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment industry. Bronk is dedicated to educating and mobilizing the arts community on issues of public importance, particularly the First Amendment. She will join Robert Corn-Revere, Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Jonathan L. Freedman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and Henry Geller, Former General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission.

Thierer has written extensively on the issues of child safety, parental controls and media regulation including "The Right Way to Regulate Violent TV," a paper explaining that technological controls, household media rules and other private sector efforts offer parents more control over their child's exposure to objectionable content than government regulations that could violate First Amendment rights. Next month, Thierer will release a new PFF special report, "Parental Control & Online Child Protection: A Survey of Tools and Methods," a comprehensive guide to parental controls tools and methods for the wide variety of entertainment media available today.

The Congressional Seminar, "The Complexities of Regulating TV Violence," will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, May 18th in Room B354 of the Rayburn House Office Building. A buffet lunch will be served. Those wishing to attend can Register Online. General questions can be addressed to Brooke Glass at 202-289-8928 or bglass@pff.org. Media inquiries can be addressed to Amy Smorodin at 202-289-8928 or asmorodin@pff.org.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.