Markey Slams FCC for Weaponizing His Law to Target Transgender and Nonbinary Americans

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (June 5, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, condemning the Commission's attempt to use the V-chip law that Senator Markey wrote to pressure the television ratings system to place a special warning on programming that acknowledges transgender and nonbinary Americans. On April 22, the FCC released a Public Notice that questions if programs rated TV-Y, TV-Y7, and TV-G that contain "gender identity themes" should be rated differently or contain warnings regarding this content.

Senator Markey is the House author of the V-chip legislation that was designed to create a parental-control framework to help families make their own decisions about television programming in their own homes.

In the letter, Senator Markey wrote, "Congress did not authorize the FCC to convert the V-chip's limited parental-control framework into authority to pressure the industry to display new labels for programming involving gender identity. Indeed, Congress did not even authorize the FCC to require adoption of its own recommended ratings system. The FCC therefore has no basis to pressure broadcasters, programmers, distributors, or ratings bodies to brand LGBTQ+ Americans as harmful."

Senator Markey continued, "Most importantly, the FCC's proceeding is discriminatory and cruel. There is nothing indecent about being transgender. There is nothing harmful about a child seeing a nonbinary character, a transgender classmate, or a family that reflects the real people in their school and community. Existing ratings already address sexual content, violence, fantasy violence, crude language, and suggestive dialogue wherever they appear. Singling out gender identity tells LGBTQ+ children that their existence is a problem and tells programmers to make them disappear. This is an unacceptable and outrageous attack on families with LGBTQ+ parents, LGBTQ+ children, and LGBTQ+ loved ones."

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