Published June 22, 2026
On June 22, 2026, EPPC Scholar Eric Kniffin of the Administrative State Accountability Project submitted a public comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to a Public Notice asking for feedback on whether the current TV ratings system adequately equips parents with information they need to protect their children from content they believe is harmful – including LGBTQ themes and gender ideology content.
The comment by Kniffin builds on EPPC scholars’ initial comment and replies to opposition arguments from the first round of public comments on the same Notice in May 2026.
First, responding to commenters contending that the Commission lacks statutory authority to act on concerns raised in the Notice, Kniffin argues that the FCC has both the authority and the duty to “take the public’s concerns into account.” “That is precisely the role Congress assigned the Commission,” he argues, and “the role parents across the country are asking it to play now.”
Second, the comment rebuts claims that any FCC effort to encourage the TV ratings system to notify parents about gender ideology content would violate the First Amendment’s free speech clause. To the contrary, Kniffin states:
Content rating is factual information that allows consumers and parents to make informed decisions. Providing information to parents about gender identity themes does not dictate consumers’ responses …. The rating and content transparency does not impinge on the free speech of those creating the content or consumers who remain free to consume the content if they so choose.
Third, the comment encourages the Commission to consider whether the TV ratings system reflects the Trump Administration’s understanding of the human person. Kniffin cites the Administration’s executive orders and other policy statements which conclude that gender ideology is based on a false anthropology and harmful to children. The comment also cites a new lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission, which alleges that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) has advanced gender ideology and sex-rejecting procedures through fraud and deception. Kniffin offers that the Administration’s actions give the FCC ample “legal and policy justification to conclude that American parents ought to be provided with a warning label or parental advisory that helps them identify programming that delivers gender ideology content to children.”
Finally, the comment argues that the initial comment record and recent public surveys confirm that American parents have diverse views on gender identity TV programming and are not content with the current TV ratings system. Yet, as the EPPC scholars showed in their May comment, the current TV ratings board is biased in favor of gender ideology. This, Kniffin argues, indicates that the current board does not reflect Congress’s instructions that the TV ratings board be “fairly balanced in … points of view represented.” To rectify the board’s current lack of viewpoint diversity, the comment recommended including representatives from faith-based groups and conservative parental rights organizations in “public interest” seats currently occupied by organizations that actively promote gender ideology or have no meaningful connection to parents and children.
Eric Kniffin is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he works on a range of initiatives to protect and strengthen religious liberty as part of EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project.
