Published May 22, 2026
On May 22, 2026, EPPC Scholars across three EPPC programs—the Administrative State Accountability Project, the Person and Identity Project, and the Bioethics, Technology, and Human Flourishing Program—submitted a public comment to the Federal Communications (FCC) in response to a Public Notice that asked for feedback on whether the current TV ratings system gives parents the information they need to protect their children from content they believe is harmful—including LGBTQ themes and gender ideology content.
The comment drafted by Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison, Mary Rice Hasson, Theresa Farnan, Maddy Pelletier, and Chloe Lawrence argues that the current system is inadequate.
First, the private board that oversees the TV ratings system is loaded with industry insiders and progressive groups:
From its inception, the Monitoring Board has reflected the industry’s progressive tilt, not American parents’ concerns. The organizations that currently occupy the “public interest” seats have demonstrated little concern for the interests of parents, particularly conservative and religious parents, in obtaining reliable information about the content of children’s programming—notably LGBTQ themes and pro-“gender identity” content. To the contrary, several of the “public interest” members are strong public advocates for the promotion of gender ideology to minors and against the rights of parents to obtain information about the effects of gender ideology on their own children.
The scholars’ comment argues the Monitoring Board should add new members that represent parents’ concerns and faith-based groups.
Second, the Monitoring Board’s current content reviewing processes are superficial and not responsive to parents’ concerns. The scholars’ comment notes that the Board’s own data reveals sparse public engagement and only vague assertions about the “spot checks” that supposedly assure ratings system is reliable. The comment challenges the Monitoring Board’s claim that its dirth of ratings complaints from parents (only 11 comments last year) proves the current system is a huge success. To the contrary, the scholars argue it is more likely that the lack of feedback indicates parents don’t know how to make their concerns known or else believe that expressing their thoughts would be futile.
Finally, the comment draws on research from the Person and Identity Project’s Maddy Pelletier, who surveyed children’s programming for content promoting LGBTQ themes and pro-gender ideology content. The survey revealed many such instances, though nearly all episodes were rated TV-Y or TV-G, indicating that they were suitable for very young children.
The scholars emphasize that protecting children from gender ideology has been an important priority for the Trump Administration. They urge the FCC to follow the President’s lead and take bold actions to empower parents to protect their children.
Other organizations submitting comments on the notice included:
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.
