WASHINGTON—The public interest group Free Press has filed comments condemning the Federal Communications Commission's inquiry on whether TV warning labels should be updated to include “transgender and gender non-binary programming.”

In its comments, Free Press wrote that the FCC proceeding is a “meritless and invalid attempt” to “chill LGBTQ+ content with which its current Chairman may disagree.”

The filing explains that the agency lacks any authority to regulate the parental-ratings system, which Congress allowed video programmers to create on a voluntary basis.

The FCC’s attempt to influence the industry through this proceeding “raises numerous First Amendment concerns, including the unfounded conflation of ‘gender identity’ with obscene or indecent material," the filing said.

In an April 2026 Public Notice, the FCC’s Media Bureau called for comments on how it might improve the current TV ratings system for children's programming. In that Notice it said that it was examining a number of issues related to TV ratings and warning labels, including how the current system deals with LGBTQ+ and transgender related content.

“Recently, parents have raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents,” the Public Notice alleged. “Specifically, the industry guidelines that parents rely on are rating shows with transgender and gender non-binary programming as appropriate for children and young children, and doing so without providing this information to parents, thereby undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families. Consistent with Congress’s vision for the ratings system, we seek comment on whether the industry’s approach is continuing to provide the information that is relevant to parents today.”

The call for comments on the current system has received over 31,000 comments including those from such conservative politicians and groups as U.S. Senator Senator Jim Banks (Ind.-R), Center for American Rights President Daniel Suhr and the Concerned Women for America, calling for updates that would flag content with LGBTQ and transgender themes.

Separately, 13 Republican state attorneys general filed comments urging the FCC to create a separate system where viewers could rate programs. “Empowering parents to protect their children from inappropriate content requires empowering the parents,” the Republicans argued. “Continuing to allow media-industry technocrats—whose moral systems are misaligned with the viewing public’s—to form moral judgments about the suitability of their own content is a system that cannot be fixed through small tweaks or public meetings. Rather, it should be scrapped entirely and the power to evaluate content should be given directly to the viewing audience.”

In its filing, Free Press said that more than 40 organizations and industry associations, including Free Press, have filed comments to oppose Carr’s proposal.

Shilpa Jindia, Free Press policy counsel and coauthor of the filing, said that “with this disturbing inquiry, the Carr FCC is expanding its broader censorial campaign targeting disfavored groups and Trump-administration critics. It’s yet another example of how this bigoted administration is working to intimidate and silence LGBTQIA+ voices and attack diversity, equity and inclusion.”

“This FCC got the issue all wrong from the start,” Jindia added. “The agency lacks authority over the television parental-ratings guidelines. In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress provided no role for the FCC if the television industry voluntarily developed an adequate ratings system first, as industry groups did almost 30 years ago. Congress also did not grant the FCC any oversight function over the TV Oversight Management Board, which the industry established to ensure that ratings guidelines apply consistently across television programming. The FCC is abusing administrative procedure by acting outside of its statutory authority to further this White House’s abhorrent anti-trans agenda.”

LOS ANGELES—There is more profanity and violence in primetime programming presently than there was a decade ago, according to a new research report from the Parents Television Council. Despite the increase in these shows, PTC points out that there have not been changes in the age-based content ratings used by the networks.

For programs rated TV-PG, PTC found that there was 28% more violence and 43.5% profanity in primetime broadcast programs from the 2017 and 2018 TV season than the 2007 and 2008 season. For TV-14 programs, PTC found a more than 150% increase in violence and 62% increase in profanity using the same years.

Other findings from PTC’s report indicate that there are now more TV-14 rated shows than those rated TV-PG, while from 10 years ago the opposite was true. In both time periods, there were no shows that earned a TV-G rating during “sweeps” period on Fox, CW and ABC, while the overall number of TV-G rated shows number five or fewer.

“Simply put, parents cannot possibly rely on a TV content rating system that labels increasingly graphic content as appropriate for children,” said Tim Winter, PTC president.

In May, the FCC released its own report on its review of the current television content rating system, where it said “that sufficient concerns have been expressed” about the accuracy of the ratings, though no official conclusion was reached.

The PTC says that Congress has not effectively acted following this report and is calling on Congress “that the TV content ratings system, and the TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board, is overhauled to improve the accuracy, consistence, transparency and public accountability of the TV ratings.

“It is time for the TV content ratings system to reflect the realities of today’s entertainment media technologies and cultural landscape. Bold, positive and comprehensive improvements to a 22-year-old system are needed to bring it to the 21st century.”

WASHINGTON—The FCC is giving an incomplete on its Congressionally-mandated review of the current television content rating system. While the commission’s Media Bureau lays out instances that indicate that the current ratings system could be applied better to some video content, a definitive or specific conclusion as to “the extent to which the rating system matches the video content is being shown” could not be reached in the 90 days allotted for review.

The Media Bureau was tasked by Congress to look into the voluntary ratings system designed by the NAB, the National Cable Television Association and the Motion Picture Association of America and approved by the FCC in 1998 as a response to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Media Bureau issued a Public Notice in February that sought comments on the accuracy of television content ratings and the ability of the TV Oversight Monitoring Board (TVOMB) to oversee the ratings and address public concerns.

Nearly 1,800 comments were filed for the Public Notice. A number of commenters made the argument that “the TV Parental Guidelines are not applied accurately to television programming,” citing violence, sexual situations and other “mature” content are being rated appropriately for children. However, Industry Representatives say that surveys they conducted as recently as 2018 find that 94% of parents were satisfied with the accuracy of the TV Parental Guidelines.

Similarly, the view on the operations of the TVOMB was dependent on what side of the industry commenters came down on. Those representing parents were worried about the TVOMB’s process for collecting and responding to complaints, as well as the group’s transparency. Industry reps stressed the value that the TVOMB provides in helping parents understand the ratings system.

The Media Bureau ultimately determined that the TVOMB had “been insufficiently accessible and transparent to the public,” noting that when the review began the TVOMB did not have a phone number for the public to contact, though that problem was ultimately resolved. Even so, it was recommended that steps should be taken to increase awareness, with suggestions of improving the TVOMB’s promotion of its role overseeing the ratings system; providing more information on the complaints that TVOMB receives and their resolutions; and holding at least one public meeting a year.

However, unable to, as it states, effectively determine the accuracy of the current TV ratings, the Media Bureau does believe “that sufficient concerns have been expressed in the record to merit additional Board action to analyze the accuracy of ratings.” Recommendations for possible Board actions included random audits or spot checks analyzing the accuracy and consistency of the ratings being applied.

The Parents Television Council released a statement from its President, Tim Winter, in response to the report, saying that the FCC affirmed “numerous, intrinsic failings of the TV content ratings system that we've been proclaiming for years.”

Winter continued: “The next step in the process for positive change needs to be public hearings, or perhaps a symposium, conducted by Congress or the FCC, that can deliver to parents a reliable and robust content ratings system which reflects the realities of today's entertainment media landscape.”

To read the FCC’s full report, click here.

This story was updated to include comments from the Parents Television Council.