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.”
