Line #150 Main/MediaWatchdog


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5	[-[[caption-width-right:350:♫ ''They're as stuffy as the stuffiest of special interest groups''\
6	''Make a joke about your bowels and they order in the troops!'' ♫]]-]
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11	->''"Fuck you very much, the FCC\
12	Fuck you very much for fining me\
13	Five thousand bucks a 'fuck',\
14	So I'm really out of luck\
15	That's more than Heidi Fleiss was charging me"''
16	-->-- '''Creator/EricIdle''', "[[ClusterFBomb The FCC Song]]"
17
18	There are rules of taste and decency on TV. There are also [[CensorshipBureau legal requirements]] to be followed.
19
20	In order to enforce these, governments set up media watchdogs. People (more often than not MoralGuardians) complain about a program, the body looks at it and rules whether their complaints are justified.
21
22	In the UK, the media regulator is Ofcom, while the ASA (the Advertising Standards Authority), handles the adverts seen in shows and online, while the PCC (Press Complaints Commission) handles print media, though interestingly the latter two are voluntary bodies, not legal ones, so an ad agency ''could'' ignore the rules, but in practice they don't as distributors tend not to go against them. The current UK record for the most complaints (over 39,000) about a TV program is held by ''Celebrity Big Brother'', particularly the bullying and racial abuse directed at eventual winner Shilpa Shetty during the fifth season of the show.
23
24	The US version is the Federal Communications Commission. Many stations (in the US, at least) also have their own self-regulating "Standards and Practices" department (commonly known as "the network censors"). Even though the FCC only has regulatory authority over broadcast networks and not cable channels ([[https://www.fcc.gov/media/program-content-regulations except for content considered obscene or forbidden by other laws, and requiring equal opportunities for political candidates]]), most cable channels self-censor to please advertisers (though they become more lenient late at night). In Japan, the relevant body is the Eiga Rinri Kanri Iinkai, or Motion Picture Code of Ethics Committee (colloquially abbreviated as "Eirin;" [[Franchise/TouhouProject don't ask it for help]]).
25
26	These Media Watchdogs are frequently subjected to ValuesDissonance. In the Anglosphere (US/Canada, UK/Ireland, and Australia), "old" New Zealand, Scandivania (Norway, Sweden and Finland), the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan), Turkey and Cuba, sex and nudity, no matter how mild, will be censored and criticized to hell, even though huge and over-the-top violence is left alone ([[NeverSayDie unless it's on a show targeted to children]]). In the rest of Europe, and "new" New Zealand, the opposite ValuesDissonance happens: sex and nudity can be found easily, but any violence is censored to hell.
27
28	Likewise, there's dissonance even in the Anglosphere - the UK and Canada are fairly relaxed when it comes to bad language, ie occasional swearing is increasingly overlooked on pre-teen shows, but the US can be very strict in how a single cuss affects the rating of an entire series.
29
30	GettingCrapPastTheRadar is the art of outsmarting the Media Watchdogs. See also: ExecutiveMeddling.
31
32	----
33	!!Examples:
34
35	[[index]]
36	* [[MediaWatchdog.WesternAnimation Western Animation]] has its own page.
37	[[/index]]
38
39	[[foldercontrol]]
40
41	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
42	* ''Anime/OruchubanEbichu'' was designed to push the boundaries of the Japanese broadcast code, trying to get away with as much as possible without being censored. However, certain parts did end up getting censored, though a lot of edgy material made it in.
43	* In ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', Miaka is told to remove her clothes as part of a test to see if she is worthy to receive an object of power; she starts stripping, but stops while still wearing a one-piece undergarment and says "This is the limit of what the broadcast code allows." ([[FridgeLogic Curiously,]] Miaka is seen in just a bra and panties, and even fully nude, at other points in the series. She is also not the only character to be seen in any state of undress.)
44	* Notoriously, the final episode of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' was designed specifically to violate the standards of Tokyo Air Check (the Japanese version of the BS&P). Everything down to the length of the episode (one minute longer than normal) was designed to make it impossible to air. The episode was titled, appropriately, "Going Too Far" (and indeed, it didn't make the air in Japan; it ended up a BonusEpisode).
45	* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Lampshades this with "The Big Cheese of the Publishing Industry" vetoing the Rentarou family's idea of having a pretend drinking party with a non-alcoholic drink that causes similar effects to getting drunk since the depiction of minors consuming alcohol or anything similar in a positive light is a "no can do." To get by this, Rentarou gives everyone normal drinks, but has everyone do a bunch of things that [[PlayingDrunk make it look like everyone is drunk]] (turning up the temperature and drinking cold drinks to make everyone get hiccups, having everyone recite tongue twisters for hours in order to slur everyone's speech, etc.) and then slaps a disclaimer that no alcohol is actually being consumed [[FootnoteFever on every single panel]] so that nobody flipping through the pages can take anything out of context.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Comic Books]]
49	* Implied for dark humor in the graphic novel ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', when the news airs the Mutant Leader's ultimatum to Batman but declares it "unfit for broadcast" past "...and then I'll find your new cop -- your ''woman'' cop -- and I will-"
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Film]]
53	* In ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'' there is a psychiatrist who blames violent movies as the cause of the (pre-teen) protagonist's mental condition. Her name is Doctor Heffner, a hint at the MPAA's former chairman Richard Heffner, who gave Wes Craven a hard time repeatedly.
54	** An extra TakeThat was in just how out-of-touch the psychiatrist was. She tells the actress who was in ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' movies that her son apparently knows who Freddy Krueger is, and from this assumes the mother has been showing her child her old movies (all of this in a disapproving tone). The actress snaps back, in exasperation, "Every kid knows who Freddy Krueger is! He's like Santa Claus!"
55	* Head of the British Board of Film Censors at the time, John Trevelyan, didn't like the early Film/JamesBond movies, making cuts to them. EON's revenge was to name Alec Trevelyan, main villain of ''Film/GoldenEye'', after him.
56	** A VillainWithGoodPublicity, no less, to the point that his FaceHeelTurn was [[ItWasHisSled originally a spoiler.]]
57	* ''Film/ThisFilmIsNotYetRated'' is all about how this works for movies in the US.
58	* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' had a scene where two ''anatomically incorrect'' marionettes simulate various sex acts. The censors made them cut two extreme examples (both involving bodily waste) but allowed the rest of it...along with scenes of puppets being blown up, decapitated, eaten by live cats, shot to pieces and defenestrated. Evidently, that was okay but puppet scat was a no-no.
59	* ''Film/{{UHF}}'': The film ends with the villainous Channel 8 getting its broadcasting license revoked by the FCC. Partly because they had failed to file paperwork to renew, but mostly because a recording of Channel 8 manager [[BigBad R.J. Fletcher]] giving a slanderous and negative appraisal of the population of the city [[EngineeredPublicConfession was secretly recorded and rebroadcasted publicly]] (''on'' Channel 8 no less). The FCC even tells Fletcher that they'd normally overlook a late filing, but considering his "latest comments", they're pulling the plug.
60	** Similarly, ''Tapeheads'' ends with Tim Robbins and John Cusack arrested by FBI agents for airing a sexually explicit video of a politician to discredit him. This includes a ShoutOut to Jello Biafra's PMRC-inspired obscenity case by Biafra himself, cameoing as an agent.
61	-->'''FBI Agent''': Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?
62	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' got its ''name'' because of this: it was originally going to be titled either "South Park Goes To Hell" or "South Park: All Hell Breaks Loose", but the MPAA rejected the trailer because "hell" was in the title. So Matt and Trey changed it to a blatant innuendo... And it went through. This became a running theme in the editing process, because every time they were informed that something was too raunchy or excessive, they would replace it with something "[[VulgarHumor ten times worse]]", and it would make it to the final cut. Parodied not only in the entire "Blame Canada" portion of the plot but this [[MemeticMutation infamous]] line from Sheila Broflovski:
63	-->'''Sheila''': Because like the MPAA says, "Horrible deplorable [[FunetikAksent voiolence]] is okay, as long as nobody says any doity woids!"
64	-->'''Terrence''': [{{beat}}] ... [[FlatWhat What?]]
65	* ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' was infamously given a 12 rating (the equivalent of PG-13) in the UK simply for a brief scene where Lilo hides in the dryer. Though most children would probably know better, it was given that on the criteria of "dangerous behavior that could be imitated." However, once the dryer was awkwardly replaced with a pizza box, it was given a much-deserved U (or G) rating.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Literature]]
69	* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/DreamingIsAPrivateThing": John J. Byrne, an agent of the Department of Arts and Sciences, is meeting with Jesse Weill, an executive producer of [[{{Cyberspace}} "dreamies"]]. Agent Byrne has a sample of pornographic dreams that he's investigating and Weill must explain how he knows that none of the professional creators were involved in the production of that {{Filth}}. Still, censorship will be something decided by Agent Byrne's bosses, not him.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
73	* Painfully obvious in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' which depicts borderline realistic, and often gruesome, autopsy scenes...but the corpse's genitals are always conveniently blotched out by what looks like glare from a high-powered lamp.
74	** In one episode, [[LovableSexManiac DiNozzo]] tests a theory by asking the coroner, Ducky, to see a deceased man's member.
75	* BBC SketchShow ''Radio/TheMaryWhitehouseExperience'' took its name from an infamous self-appointed British [[MoralGuardians moral guardian]].
76	* Mary Whitehouse was also satirized in an episode of ''Series/TheGoodies''. It seems she wrote to the show to compliment them as being one of the few "clean" shows on TV. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame They didn't like that]].
77	* ''Series/TheGongShow'': Chuck Barris, producer and host, tired of network censors nixing acts which he thought were fairly innocuous, began throwing deliberately outrageous ones at them so as to distract the Watchdogs from the acts he really wanted to broadcast. Naturally enough, in accordance with FinaglesLaw, several of these intentionally over-the-top acts were allowed on the air, including [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDxDYIQL6Nc the infamous Popsicle Twins]], a pair of women made up as teenaged girls who sat on stage and provocatively sucked popsicles while the audience howled.
78	** It was allowed on the East Coast broadcast of the episode, but after the quick and predictable outcry it generated, NBC removed it from the West Coast broadcast that aired a few hours later.
79	* Parodied in an old ''Smothers Brothers'' sketch where the Smothers Brothers hand their new script to a team of censors. Each one reads a page and laughs even harder than the last one, before throwing the page away and saying "no." Only the last page remained because it wasn't funny at all.
80	* Many fans of ''Series/VeronicaMars'' joke that the [[HurricaneOfPuns storm of double-entendres]] present in the dialogue simply overloaded the censors' filthometers and they gave up.
81	* A moment that should have been dramatic was turned almost {{narm}}y in an episode of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica\|2003}}'' when Starbuck started dropping [[ClusterFBomb fraks like nobody's business]]. We ''know exactly what she's saying''. Why do we have to have drama ruined by [[UnusualEuphemism good but ultimately fruitless tries at alternate swearing]]?
82	** Parodied in [[http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/66708/detail/ this]] ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch, with most of the actual ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica\|2003}}'' cast.
83	** Way better parody [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGHIb7gG1m0&index=5&list=LLLaq-cYkEz5QJvxSRI49PWA here]].
84	*** "Frak" is the last remnant of the Original BSG's habit of having alternate names for almost everything: seconds became centons, years became yahrns, fuck became frak. While the alternate time system was dropped, frak was specifically included as an homage to the original. Originally, there was some bowdlerization involved, but that's not the only reason its there.
85	* In early episodes of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', ABC's Standards and Practices insisted that Charlie's heroin use could not be shown. Instead, it had to be implied with cutaway shots.
86	* ''Les pieds dans la Marge'', a Québécois TV show that's a collection of various stunts aimed at teenagers (with the broad understanding that "teenage" extends at least to the mid-twenties), features a meta example of media watchdogs and executive meddling. The show's presenter and narrator is often shown at an executive meeting where he interrupts the sequence asking if the show is sending the right message to teenagers. The funny part is that the actor that plays the role of complainer also takes part in all the stunts (such as trusting your friends blindly to choose a tattoo that will end on your bum, skydiving, forest survival and so on).
87	* The production staff for ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' wanted to show a several-second blurb of (what was considered to be, at the time) excessive skin, but one member, knowing that the Media Watchdogs would disapprove, is reported to have told the rest of the staff to double the time of skin shown, so that they could "negotiate" the time down to half, thus keeping the amount of "Questionable Material" the same as they originally wanted, but also satisfying the Media Watchdogs.
88	** Another case where they wanted to show more than what the censors allowed was resolved by taking the Standards & Practices guy out to lunch, while they quickly shortened a costume and shot the scene.
89	** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' was subjected to what would today be considered a quite extraordinary degree of censorship. (You can still make old-line Trekkies laugh with the phrase "Avoid the open-mouth kiss", which NBC's Broadcast Standards department rubber-stamped onto ''any'' mention of kissing in a script.) In the episode "That Which Survives", Lee Meriwether wears a crop-top and bell-bottom pants -- with a rectangular tab about four inches by five extending up from the waistband to conceal the forbidden sight of her navel.
90	* In 2002, ''The View'' had a recurring segment on weight loss, for which the hosts weighed in periodically. The day after the final segment, Meridith Viera [[http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/a/abc-jesus.htm stated]] that the scale had been removed from the set, to which Joy Behar replied: "Thank you, Jesus." This was broadcast live to the U.S. East Coast, which prompted a moral outcry about using His name in a joke. ABC responded by bleeping "Jesus" out of the West Coast broadcast, which prompted another moral outcry for treating the name, in Jerry Falwell's words, "as if it were profanity."
91	* In May 1970, a state commission in Mississippi voted to ban ''Series/SesameStreet'', because it [[ValuesDissonance portrayed characters of all races as equals]]. When the vote was leaked to the New York Times, the counter-[[MoralGuardians guardians]] pressured Mississippi to release the ban after 22 days.
92	* According to Andrew W.K., this is the reason Destroy Build Destroy was cancelled.
93	* In the Philippines, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board not only administers TV and film ratings but also has the power to temporarily ''suspend'' shows from being aired for violating rules.
94	** Though in one awkward incident, the MTRCB banned ''Series/{{Entourage}}'' on HBO for not being properly classified, but only on ''one'' cable provider (the largest one, yes, but still)
95	* The most contentious battle ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' fought with censors was over the otherwise innocuous "Nerds Christmas" sketch in which the Nerds were putting on the Nativity as a school play. Each Nerds sketch featured Todd giving noogies to Lisa Loopner. Here "Lisa" was playing the Virgin Mary and the network insisted that the show ''could not noogie the Virgin Mary.'' An exasperated Lorne Michaels kept insisting that it was not the Virgin Mary, it was Gilda Radner playing Lisa Loopner playing the Virgin Mary with a paper plate pinned to her head. Sanity eventually prevailed and Lisa got her noogies.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
99	* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' comic, the syndicate made Adams remove a police officer's gun, which he replaced with a [[DonutMessWithACop doughnut]]. This would be pretty standard, except for the fact that the punchline was the officer shooting an unarmed suspect, which he still does...with the doughnut. Someone get Dunkin' to start selling ''those''.
100	** Adams was also told that he couldn't use the Devil as a character. Thus was born Phil, [[GoshDarnItToHeck the Prince of Insufficient Light]], who rules Heck with a pitchspoon. Adams admits that this was a case of the [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools syndicate being right]], as Phil has been a much funnier addition than the Devil would have been.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Music]]
104	* Mrs. Whitehouse is also satirized as one of the three "Pigs" in Music/PinkFloyd's song of that name.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
108	* Right To Censor, a wrestling stable of tie-wearing dorks whose catchphrase was "You do NOT know what is good for you!" and occasionally tried to abort {{fanservice}} segments by covering everybody with sheets. (It was actually based on the Parents Television Council, created by {{Wrestling/WWE}} in response to their sponsors being boycotted by PTC's then-president L. Brent Bozell III.) As a heel faction they were against what was risque at the time. They also got a lot of hate due to [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=k9vs4H18dH0 that obnoxious theme song they had.]] The heat was on and WWE had to ditch their racier gimmicks: part of the joke was how RTC indoctrinated people like Wrestling/ValVenis (who abandoned his porn star gimmick before even joining RTC) and The Godfather (a weed-smoking pimp who became The Goodfather), to the latter's vocal chagrin. The fact that Wrestling/JerryLawler, who was then a heel sympathizer, talked worse about the RTC on commentary than he did about faces like Wrestling/MickFoley or Wrestling/TheRock is more proof of how contentious they were. Now, with access to the WWE Network, they have become one of rediscovered heel factions of the Wrestling/AttitudeEra. Ironically, with WWE now being PG-rated, Right To Censor should go down as the most-triumphant stable in wrestling history.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder: Puppet Shows]]
112	* ''Series/MuppetsTonight'' had a parody of ''Series/NYPDBlue'' called ''NYPD Green'', in which the Network Censor objects to the (''very'' mild; it's the Muppets) profanity, only for Kermit and Gil to explain that it wasn't profanity, it was [[LiteralMetaphor an accurate description of the items and characters]].
113	-->'''Gil''': You see, the guy who stole the filthy dirtbag[[note]]as in, a filthy bag filled with dirt[[/note]] is actually a slimy scuzzball.\
114	'''Kermit''': That's right, that's right. Stosh, could you come in here for a second, please?\
115	''(A purply-brown ball of ... stuff ... rolls onscreen to the Censor's disgust)''\
116	'''Stosh''': That's right, lady, I'm a scuzzball. I live under the couch. The cat coughed me up. You got a problem with that?
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Radio]]
120	* ''Radio/TheGoonShow'' opted to take the piss by putting in [[OrphanedPunchline completely out of context punchlines]] to dirty jokes, then pointing out that anyone who got the joke had no right to be offended. And let's not even get started on the brandy.
121	* Similarly, the radio comedy ''Radio/RoundTheHorne'' (itself a victim of overzealous censorship) aimed a number of {{Take That}}s including one where a team of censors object to the title of a then-popular TV Show 'Have A Go With Wilfred Pickles' (the joke being that it's not the obvious innuendo in 'have a go' but the name 'Pickles' was promoting alcohol abuse).
122	-->'''Horne:''' Will you take my case?\
123	'''Julian:''' Well, it depends on what it is. We've got a criminal practice that takes up most of our time.\
124	'''Horne:''' Yes, but apart from that? I need legal advice.\
125	'''Sandy:''' Ooh, isn't he bold?
126	* Parodied by Creator/StanFreberg in his classic ''Elderly Man River'' sketch.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Stand Up Comedy]]
130	* American stand-up comedian and social commentator Creator/GeorgeCarlin famously dealt with the situation soon after its inception in the U.S. by making it part of one of his concerts.
131	-->How about this? The FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, decided all by itself that radio and TV were the only two parts of American media not protected by the free speech provisions First Amendment to the Constitution. I'd like to repeat that because it sounds ''vaguely important''. The FCC, an appointed body, not elected, answerable ''only'' to the President, decided all on its own that radio and TV were the only two parts of American media not protected by the free speech Amendment of the Constitution. ''Why'' did they do that? Because they got a ''letter'' from a ''minister'' in ''Mississippi!'' A Reverend Donald Wildmon heard something on the radio he didn't like. Well hey, Reverend, didn't anybody ever tell you that there are two ''knobs'' on the radio? ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Two! Knobs! On the radio!]]'' However, I'm sure the Reverend isn't too comfortable with anything that has two knobs on it anyway. Anyway, Reverend, there are two knobs on the radio. One of them turns the radio off, and the other one, ''changes the station''! Imagine that, Reverend! You can actually change the station! It's called freedom of choice, and it's one of the principles this country was founded upon. Look it up at the library, Reverend, if you have any left when you finish burning all the books!
132	** Of course, do we HAVE to mention the skit that made him famous, the "SevenDirtyWords", which is the skit that GOT said words onto the FCC's "do not say" list? Do we have to mention what those seven words were?
133	*** We may, as future generations may not have heard George Carlin's work. The "Seven Dirty Words" are "shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker[[note]]"Motherfucker" was briefly removed, because (as pointed out to him by a fan) "fuck" is already one of the Seven Dirty Words and therefore "motherfucker" doesn't warrant a separate entry. Carlin would later put "motherfucker" back on the list because the verbal flow of the bit doesn't really work without it.[[/note]], and tits". Things have gotten lenient in the modern era, and the second word on the list has been said in kids' movies such as ''Film/{{Elf}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets2''.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Video Games]]
137	* ''VideoGame/AtelierIrisEternalMana'' [[PlayedForLaughs has a little fun with this]]: In one dialogue exchange, Norn is afraid of monsters, so she asks the hero, Klein, to sleep with her. She thinks what she's saying is [[InnocentInnuendo totally innocuous]], but a flustered Klein responds by BreakingTheFourthWall and saying: "[[ThinkOfTheCensors I can't! The ESRB would go nuts!]]" This line is actually missing in the PAL version (though the game retains its fourth-wall wonders), and Klein simply answers with a flustered "...you're joking..."
138	* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' parodied the censorship issue by joking that putting anything more extreme into the game would get the game an AO rating. (An Adults-Only rating is suicide for a game, because [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_63/370-Wal-Mart-Rules a certain large retailer]] refuses to stock games with the AO rating.) [[BreakingTheFourthWall In the dialogue before the final battle, no less]]. There's also the implication that the game would have to be re-edited if the plot point referenced was actually uttered, thereby delaying the game. To top it off, this is all followed by the line, "You don't want this game to become ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes [[VideoGame/DukeNukemForever Forever]]'', do you?" This line is in the original Japanese version as well, since CERO (Japan's equivalent of the ESRB) is similar in how they act. You can slow down the speed so you can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A22Nkt_fDBc hear what is really being said]].
139	* Parodied in ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max Season 2: What's New, Beelzebub?]]'', where we find that the FCC is run by the forces of Hell.
140	* Parodied in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' with babalities and friendships.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Webcomics]]
144	* In [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/325 this]] ''Webcomic/{{Loserz}}'' strip. The [[http://the-qlc.com/loserz/go/326 next]] runs with it.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Real Life]]
148	* Ironically, while France has some "classical" media watchdogs, some of them actually complain because they believe that French TV and movies are not bold enough.
149	** There probably used to be a time when French films were infamous for featuring lots more violence and sex (they never had to operate under UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode). Now that Hollywood is able to do the same thing that approach is not profitable anymore and most French filmmakers would prefer to create SliceOfLife, comedy and European literature adaptations rather than excessive use of sex and violence to attract audiences that Hollywood does not attract. If anything this proves that if TheNewRockAndRoll turns out to be LighterAndSofter than older media it will still come under fire by that old media.
150	** ''Familles de France''[[labelnote:Trans.]]Families of France[[/labelnote]] regularly bashes material it views as obscene and sued ''VideoGame/SecondLife'' (with the net providers) for promoting gambling, [[RuleThirtyFour paraphilias]], pornography and having online sex shops.
151	* In Canada, broadcasters have to present a certain minimum amount of Canadian content. While there has been some griping about it, these rules worked wonders for Canadian popular music over the years. Once, before these regulations, Canadian artists were so ignored that radio broadcasters literally broke records in front of some musicians pleading for some airtime; now the Canadian music scene has flourished to the point where all Canadian music stations exist with big international stars who wouldn't think of leaving the Great White North.
152	* In 2011 a documentary film about bullying in U.S. schools called ''Bully'' was released. The reason the film was made was to encourage inspiring advocacy, engagement, and empowerment not just in people who are being bullied and in their families, but by those of us who all too often stand by and do nothing. In other words, one of the target audiences were young people being bullied in order to let them know they can get help. However, the MPAA rated the movie "R" for language, as a few kids interviewed say "fuck". Because of the R rating, no one under 17 would've been allowed to see the movie, and the film wouldn't have been allowed to be screened in American middle schools or high schools. Only through massive protest and slight editing (which did ''not'' involve the most important scenes) were the producers able to get it changed to PG-13. Quite a number of writers mentioned that had ''Bully'' been produced by a major studio (they run the MPAA), there would have been no problem. However, the MPAA always sets ratings to favor the large studios over the small independent ones and there is no way to hold the MPAA accountable.
153	** In fact, a rumor floating around claims that, on top of artistic preferences, most films are mis-rated because certain MPAA members will either gloss over the film or fail to watch it at all.
154	** The fundamental silliness of the original R rating for ''Bully'' is underscored when you realize that it was based on the presumption that the teenagers interviewed for the film were too young to ''watch themselves describing their own experiences in their own words.'' It's even crazier when in 2004, a documentary called ''Gunner Palace'' was released, which featured 43 uses of "fuck" and several of "Motherfucker" (which isn't allowed at all at PG-13 according to the MPAA's rules). After an appeal, it was granted said PG-13 status uncut without bleeping.
155	** The MPAA's habit of ratings biased in favor of their studios was known even before the ''Bully'' documentary even existed. An NC-17 rated documentary called ''Film/ThisFilmIsNotYetRated'' covered the MPAA and their rating bias extensively.
156	* There is a good amount of indirect censorship in business sectors reliant on advertising, such as the internet. Since one of the biggest paths for advertising is Google, it has also taken on the role of media watchdog many times.
157	** This has had a major impact on TV Tropes itself, which has come under the eye of Google multiple times, cut off from advertising at least once, and bowed to all requests. Many sex-oriented tropes, media, and discussions have been eliminated, with records only existing in memory and offsite archives, and guidelines have been established that essentially keep the site PG-13 compatible.
158	* In Belgium, having a Media Watchdog (as well as a CensorshipBureau) is explicitly forbidden as is stated under article 25 of the Belgian constitution (translated): "The printing press is free; Censorship can never be introduced; no security bond can be demanded from writers, publishers or printers. If the writer is known and lives in Belgium, the publisher or printer cannot be persecuted." This rule, however, has only led to more swearing and political subject matter on Belgian television than in other countries. Sex, violence, racism, and religion in themselves have rarely been shown on Belgian television and are much more regularly depicted in other countries. One could say that legalizing sex and violence on TV removes all the fun of attempting to shoehorn it in. It is however still interesting to know as a MoralGuardian that in Belgium you would be considered a stimulator of criminal activity.
159	* The Philippines has the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, a review and classification body for media aired in the Philippines. While officially it claims that it has no censorship powers, the body has suspended the airing of television programs and can effectively censor films and television shows by giving them an "X rating" which would render them "not for public viewing".
160	* The United States has the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which regularly stages protests against anything they deem to be advertising disguised as children's media or promotion of commercial culture to children. One notable example was their complaints about ''WesternAnimation/Zevo3'' thinking it was shilling Sketchers sneakers when in reality it barely mentioned them at all. They also staged a protest against the short-lived Creator/CartoonNetwork preschool block ''Tickle-U'' at one point, and tried to stop international expansion of Creator/BabyFirstTV on the grounds of "TV is bad for children of any age!" and "kids under two shouldn't watch television!". They've also claimed Pizza Hut's Book It promotion "promoted junk food to a captive market, made teachers into promoters for Pizza Hut and undermined parents by making visits to the chain an integral part of bringing up their children to be literate."
161	* New Zealand has the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) as the media watchdog for televison and radio programming. In 2021, the BSA got fed up with so many repeat claims from MoralGuardians it actually wrote a list of complaints that it generally won't entertain: use of the Māori language, blasphemy, false balance, content inappropriate for children after the Main/{{watershed}}, and being unfair to politicians who give Main/{{Non Answer}}s.
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Context Main / MediaWatchdog