CCFC Praises France Baby TV Ban; Urges FTC Action in the US

August 21, 2008

Yesterday, France’s broadcast authority announced that it was banning French channels from marketing TV shows to children under three years old.  According to a ruling published by the High Audiovisual Council: “Television viewing hurts the development of children under 3 years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens.”  Continue reading the press release>

CCFC to FTC:  Whatever Happened to BabyFirstTV?

July 15, 2008

It’s been over two years since we filed a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Complaint against Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, and BabyFirstTV for false and deceptive marketing. The FTC’s subsequent investigation spurred significant changes to Baby Einstein’s and Brainy Baby’s marketing strategies.  But for BabyFirstTV, it’s business as usual. Continue reading the press release>

Follow-up Letter to the FTC

Disney No Longer Marketing Baby Einstein Videos as Educational

February 2008

As a result of CCFC’s Federal Trade Commission complaint, Baby Einstein has completely redesigned its website and is no longer making educational claims about its DVDs and videos.  In 2006, CCFC filed an FTC complaint against Baby Einstein for making false and deceptive claims about the educational value of their products.  In December, the FTC decided not to take enforceable action against Baby Einstein when the company promised to “take appropriate steps to ensure that any future advertising claims of educational and/or developmental benefit for children are adequately substantiated.”  Since no substantiation exists, Disney will not be able to claim that the videos have educational value. 

We are deeply troubled that the FTC failed to hold Disney accountable for years of deceptive marketing; essentially, the FTC is telling corporations that it’s okay to lie to parents because if you get caught there will be no consequences as long as you promise not to do it again.  At the same time, we are proud that CCFC’s complaint spurred substantive changes to the Baby Einstein website.  Gone are claims such as the description of Baby Wordsworth as a “rich and interactive learning experience that … fosters the development of your toddler’s speech and language skills,” or that Numbers Nursery will “help develop your baby’s understanding of what numbers mean.” 

The FTC’s response to CCFC is available at http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/lettertoccfc.pdf.

The FTC’s response to Baby Einstein is available at http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/babyeinstein.pdf.

CCFC's FTC Complaint Against BabyFirstTV