Last week, Walmart’s VUDU announced a new feature called “Family Play Mode” which automatically skips sex, violence, profanity, and drug use in 500 movies. This is the most significant development in parental and family content skipping since we launched VidAngel in 2013.
Here is what we know so far:
– They offer Disney content
– They are supporting modern streaming devices like iOS, Android, XBOX One and a few smart TVs
– They offer 500 PG and PG-13 titles
Some backlash:
– Filmmaker discussion boards online have exploded in shock and anger.
– Commenters across social media are predicting that Family Play will be shut down by pressure from the DGA.
– When Sony announced a similar initiative back in 2017, they were attacked by the Directors Guild of America and leading Hollywood content-makers. Eventually, due to significant pressure, took “Clean Version” down.
We congratulate VUDU and Walmart on being the first major player to catch the vision of skipping.
Senator Mike Lee is preparing to introduce an update to the Family Movie Act in the Senate. This important message from the CEO of VidAngel, Neal Harmon, and a letter from the President of the Parents Television Council, Tim Winter, explains how you can help.
As a parent, nothing is more important than protecting a child’s innocence.
And, as a veteran of the entertainment industry, the truth is that there are many in Hollywood who are actively engaged in creating content that strips that innocence away from our kids, damaging lives forever.
You know this already, that’s why you use and support VidAngel, because its incredible content filtering technology protects your family. The Parents Television Council wants to protect your right to filter out the graphic sex, violence and profanity that is so pervasive in today’s media, but I need your help.
Hollywood is fighting to remove your parental right to use content filtering technology for modern streaming devices. They’ve convinced judges that you shouldn’t be able to use modern technologies to protect your family from material that you find harmful or offensive.
Legislation is being considered in Washington DC that will block the negative forces in Hollywood from taking away your right to use filtering technologies like VidAngel. If that legislative remedy is to succeed, we need bipartisan support from the most influential legislators. That’s why your senator needs to hear from you today.
