Accountability

[INRM]

I've given some thought to accountability.

Without accountability in society, people would feel free to do whatever they wish, with no fear of punishment for their actions.

I think in America, at least in some respects, that we do not practice accountability properly...

One example I can cite is this.

Late at night, an infomercial for Alzare came on. The Channel was USA.

Basically the product is supposed to enlarge one's penis. Now, anyone has suspicions about a drug that promises to do that much. They go on and on about how it's herbal, and that means it's harmless... (Uh, there are lots of plants that are poisonous)...

At the start of this commercial they say that USA is not in any way responsible for the advertisements...

Why not? It's their station, and they have the right to determine what is and what is not broadcasted on their station.

Basically, they want the money, but they don't want the accountability.

I believe that a station should be accountable for anything and everything broadcasted on their station. The only exception is if someone managed to somehow hijack their station and broadcast some stupid thing against the stations will... other than that, those should be held accountable for the stuff broadcasted on their station.

Without accountability, those people can have total frauds and charlatans, not to mention quacks and con-men broadcast on their station, and commit fraud, and potentially ruin people's lives, with no fear of punishment. This would not motivate them against having such people on their station.

If the station didn't air that commercial, nobody could have seen it. Therefore the faudulant/deceptive information couldn't have been transmitted.

Granted, the people who made the commercial should be held accountable the most, as they created the material, but the station did allow it to be broadcasted, which makes them accountable for anybody doing something dumb as a result of the broadcast.

Do you agree?

-INRM

[aerocontrols]

I prefer that men stupid enough to believe Alzare's claims waste their money on products to increase their penis size than on other projects that might increase their chance of actually breeding.


just kidding.


sort of.



On a more serious note: Is it true that USA is collecting this money? It's possible that the cable company is selling infomercials when USA is not broadcasting. Just something that occurred to me. I don't have any good reason to believe one or the other.

[Otther]

Aren't problems like these better solved with personal responsibility?

[Loon]

The only problem with this position is that allowing someone to run a commercial on your station then implies some form of endorsement by the station. A station cannot simultaneously endorse (or take responsibility for) ads which say "Bush is better than Kerry" and "Kerry is better than Bush."

I do think it would also be nice for there to be requirements of studies or something before making provable claims ("this will lengthen your penis" or "this cures pain")

[Mycroft]

I think I've seen that commercial, but I assumed the enlargement was supposed to be temporary, in the same way viagra does it.

Does the product claim to produce a more permanent change?

Edited to add: I might not have to ask this question if I had ever actually read any of those spams I get.

[Chaos]

Originally posted by Loon
The only problem with this position is that allowing someone to run a commercial on your station then implies some form of endorsement by the station. A station cannot simultaneously endorse (or take responsibility for) ads which say "Bush is better than Kerry" and "Kerry is better than Bush."

For that reason, in Germany TV and radio stations are required to air ANY campaign ad - provided they get proper payment, of course. They also run a disclaimer before every ad saying that they are required to run these ads and neither endorse them nor take responsibility for them.

They´re still greedy enough to run a load of BS commercials, though.