Media watchdog group calls for child pornography probe of MTV’s ‘Skins’
January 21st, 2011 - 4:35 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Jan 21 (ANI): A media watchdog group has called on lawmakers and law enforcement officials to investigate possible child pornography and exploitation on MTV’s new series ‘Skins’.
Parents Television Council President Tim Winter wrote a letter to the chairmen of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees and the Department of Justice.
“On January 17, the Viacom-owned cable network MTV aired a teenager-based drama, ‘Skins’,” Fox News quoted him as writing in the letter.
“The episode included all manner of foul language, illegal drug use, illegal activity as well as thoroughly pervasive sexual content.
“Many of the actors appearing in the show are below the age of 18. It is clear that Viacom has knowingly produced material that may well be in violation of [several] federal statutes.
“Since it is not necessary for Viacom or MTV to distribute the material in order to be in violation of the law, we call upon your committees to immediately investigate Viacom and MTV for the production of this material.
“Furthermore, we urge you in the strongest possible terms to compel the attorney general to mount an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the production of ‘Skins’ has violated federal law meant to protect minors from exploitation,” Winter wrote in the statement.
The controversial British import series ‘Skins’ had made its debut on the cable network last Monday, causing uproar for its frank depiction of teenage sex and drug use.
But unlike MTV’s envelope-pushing shows of the past, ‘Skins’ features underage actors engaged in sexual situations. The youngest star of the show is 15.
“Putting aside whether it is socially acceptable, I certainly believe that MTV is unnecessarily tempting fate,” Ian Friedman, an attorney specializing in computer-based sex offences, said.
“It is not clear as to whether MTV is in violation of federal or state child pornography laws, but that does not mean that they won’t end up defending themselves somewhere in the United States,” he stated.
Friedman added that even if potentially damaging footage is edited out, it might not be enough to protect MTV from legal repercussions. (ANI)
- Indian Idol Out, X Factor In - Jan 22, 2011
- MTV insists 'Skins' has not violated any child pornography laws - Jan 24, 2011
- MTV Exec Stands By The Contentious 'Skins' Despite The Slight Slide In Viewership And Withdrawal Of Advertisers - Feb 02, 2011
- Chinese microblogs closed for spreading porn - Nov 01, 2011
- 'Assange has not broken Australian law' - Dec 17, 2010
- Mexico a huge producer of child porn: Official - Jan 26, 2012
- US woman jailed for abusing daughter, 2, on web-cam as teen watched in UK - Mar 16, 2011
- Wikipedia blasts co-founder's accusations of child porn on website - Apr 29, 2010
- Former Orange County, FL investigator sentenced for child pornography - Jan 16, 2010
- MTV's 'Skins' 'loses' fourth major sponsor - Jan 25, 2011
- FCC & cable companies clash over Internet TV - Dec 22, 2010
- Australian PM fails to name law WikiLeaks has broken - Dec 07, 2010
- "Skins" TV Series Will Premiere On MTV From January - Oct 22, 2010
- Starbucks settles teen 'sex demands at work case' outside court - Jun 05, 2010
- Stratfor hits out at WikiLeaks over Bhopal spying charge - Feb 28, 2012
Tags: british import, cable network, child pornography laws, council president, foul language, fox news, illegal drug use, import series, judiciary committees, law enforcement officials, media watchdog group, parents television council, sex offences, sexual content, sexual situations, star of the show, tempting fate, tim winter, u s senate, uproar