 In the previous part of our MOOC in Communication Ethics, we talked about important guidelines for ethical conduct that pertain to the broader field of communication professions. In this part of our course, we dive into the ethical issues relevant to one particular field of communication, media entertainment. Media entertainment, in the form of television shows, movies, games, music, to name just a few, is everywhere and has an impact on millions of people worldwide every day. The media entertainment industry is generally self-regulating when it comes to ethical conduct, which means that there are no strict rules concerning the type of content that can or cannot be produced. This may pose a problem when certain audiences are exposed to media content that is not appropriate for them. Consider, for example, children being exposed to adult content, for which they do not yet have the capacity to properly process and understand. For this reason, many countries have established organizations or associations that provide guidelines for content distributors, allow audiences to classify or rate media entertainment, and provide warnings about possible harmful content. Examples in the US include the Motion Picture Association of America Film Rating System, the Entertainment Software Rating Board for Games, other TV parental guidelines for television content. Similarly, in the Netherlands, NICOM is an advisory board of professionals which ensures that any harmful media content is provided with a warning, through the Kijkweiser for television and movies, and Peggy for games. Regulations sometimes go further than ratings or warnings, because even if there are no rules about what type of content can be produced, there are rules about who can or should access the content. It is considered punishable by law to provide, offer or show content to underaged individuals that is considered inappropriate for them, such as pornography or graphic violence. As a result, content control is often implemented in stores, cinemas, companies or institutions to prohibit young people from accessing such content. With the increased accessibility of media entertainment online, content control has recently also taken the form of content filters at home or in schools. Currently, European governments are discussing parental informed consent for adolescent use of online apps and websites. This means that adolescents under a certain age may need permission from their parents to access or download online content and apps. So how can we apply the various ethical theories to these types of regulation? From the deontological and virtual ethics perspectives, content control and restrictions are created based on the intention to protect children and are therefore morally good. However, it becomes more complicated from a utilitarian or consequentialist perspective. Young people may suffer from restrictions or content control if it keeps them from accessing content that could benefit them. In addition, content control has sparked discussions about overly restricting the autonomy of young people and may also create a forbidden fruit effect, where restricting access to certain content is said to make such content even more appealing. Restricting access to content appears to be an idealistic solution to protecting children from harmful content, since in theory it should apply to everyone in every situation. However, one might wonder if this is feasible and desirable. Media entertainment can have both a negative and positive influence and this may depend on a particular child and situation. We can also take a more relativistic approach to media entertainment in which we attempt to find a solution that takes into account individual differences in experience and knowledge. This brings me to another approach to protecting minors from the possible harms and risks of media entertainment, media literacy education. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to teaching media literacy at home and in school, where media literacy stands for the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms. By teaching children about the possible harmful effects of media entertainment, we give them the experience and skills to deal with certain types of media content in their own way. This approach seems to be in line with Kant's idea of respecting the autonomy of all humans and their capacity for rational decision making. It should be noted, however, that very young audiences may not be capable of such rational decision making. Some experts have therefore argued that we need to combine restrictions and media literacy education, especially when it comes to the risks of entertainment for very young audiences. Of course, this is not to say that only children need media literacy training. Adults could also benefit from learning how to interpret and deal with entertainment communication. Unfortunately, this is beyond the scope of this video, but of course, this is something you can think about for yourself or discuss with others. For now, let's move to our next clip, in which we discuss what ethical conduct means for professionals in political communication and journalism.