Lieberman asks Bush to support bill

Sen. John Lieberman (D-Conn.) has asked President Bush to support a bill that would give federal regulators the authority to penalize media outlets to market adult-rated materials to children. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Media Marketing Accountability Act induced in April by Lieberman, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) Reps. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) and Tom Osborne (R-Neb.) are expected to induce the bill to the House of Representatives. The letter contends that the entertainment industry has been “targeting heavily violent content meant for adults directly to our children” and the legislation seeks to “protect” American youth. However, the Creative Coalition, formed by fellow members of the entertainment industry including Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, Lauren Bacall, William Baldwin, Recording Industry Association of America president Hillary Rossen and HBO chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes, issued a statement criticizing the bill and claiming it violates the First Amendment. Lieberman said that his attempt is not to tell the entertainment industry what to create, but to simply regulate the content in their products.