Movies have been around for over a hundred years and families have been watching them from the comfort of their own homes since the 1970s and 80s. But from the early times of movies to now, there have been a wide range of movies produced with content aimed toward all different audiences. For years now families have been watching movies and skipping or muting certain parts in order to manually censor content that they deemed inappropriate for their children. A study conducted by Priya G. Nalkur, Ed.D., M.P.H., Patrick E. Jamieson, Ph.D., and Daniel Romer, Ph.D. showed that movie ratings have changed over the years to allow more and more violence. They found that, “the rating system has allowed increasingly violent content into PG-13 films, thereby increasing youth access to more harmful content. Assignment of films in the current rating system should be more sensitive to the link between violent media exposure and youth violence.” In the last ten years or so, many companies have tried to provide families with the technology to filter movies so they can watch movies the way they want in the privacy of their own homes. Unfortunately, all of these companies have been sued and shut down by the major movie-making companies like Disney, Warner Bro., Lucasfilm, and others. Then in 2005, Congress passed the Family Movie Act, making it legal, under certain parameters, to stream and filter movies. But still, the big movie companies have found ways around this law to sue and shut down all filtering companies. One of these filtering companies is fighting back. VidAngel has recently been sued by several major film companies. But VidAngel refuses to back down. They have taken it to the courts and plan on taking it as far as the Supreme Court until they win the fight for filtering.
Their official mission statement on their website states: “VidAngel’s mission is to ensure families everywhere have the option to filter content as they wish." The way their company works is the viewer buys a movie on their site for one dollar. Using the tools provided on the site, the viewer can choose which filters to use which will mute/cut out specified video or audio that the viewer decided they didn’t want to watch or hear. When the viewer is done with the movie, he/she can sell it back to VidAngel at a rate of twenty movies to nineteen dollars. VidAngel is a company that provides a means for families to watch movies “however the BLEEP you want.". Unfortunately, Hollywood is not a fan of filtering. Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm and Warner Bros. have sued VidAngel and as of now, VidAngel is no longer allowed to stream movies. But that hasn’t stopped them. VidAngel claims to be completely legal under the Family Movie Act of 2005 because they meet these three conditions specified in the law: the movie is an authorized copy, it is watched in the privacy of the home, and no permanent filtered copy is created. Additionally, to protect filtering companies, Congress made the companies that met those three conditions essentially immune to copyright lawsuits. So the DMCA, the law in the Copyright Act that forbids the unauthorized decryption of discs, doesn’t apply to VidAngel. Despite all this, Hollywood still thinks VidAngel is illegal and has so far been successful in beating them in court. But VidAngel isn’t giving up. They plan to appeal to higher courts and go all the way to the Supreme Court if they have to. Though they have lost the first few battles, several Congressmen who helped get the Family Movie Act passed are going to help VidAngel win the war. If Hollywood wins, that would mean the end of filtering in the U.S. VidAngel’s goal as a company is to do whatever it takes to give families the power to choose what and how they watch movies in their own homes.
VidAngel is on almost every social media platform and is trying to spread the word and raise money to fight the lawsuit. Their initial goal was to raise 5 million dollars but thanks to their supporters they have raised over 10 million dollars! But the fight isn't over. If you believe in giving families the right to decide what and how they watch movies in their homes then you can help VidAngel save filtering. First, sign their petition. They have over 150,000 signatures so far but their goal is to reach 200,000. Go to savefiltering.nationbuilder.com and sign their petition. Second, donate. Fighting this battle is going to be expensive. They can spread all the awareness they want but without the finances to support them in court, they don't have much of a chance. Third, contact your senators and congressmen and tell them how important movie filtering is to your family. Pay them a visit, call them, send them a letter or email, or post to their Facebook or Twitter pages. And finally, tell your friends and family about VidAngel. Share their posts and videos on social media. Keep people talking about it. Let's not see this issue fade away into the background. Hollywood does not have the right to decide for us what and how we watch movies in our own homes.
