Although he didn't invent the internet, it was indeed Al Gore who was instrumental in ensuring that the V-Chip became mandatory in all new TV-sets. For the uninitiated: it's a built-in device that allows parents to regulate and police the content their children would be able to access on the home TV-set. As it happens, the V-Chip inventor and I were once involved in a local technology deal and the fact that he knew Al Gore was often used during investor meetings as a selling point, but then it was only the year 2000 and it was a Canadian deal so the Gore brand probably had some value. Anyway, I never bothered to figure out how to get the actual thing going on my TV, but then my kids are probably too young to worry about it. Still, it seems to be an excellent tool to let ordinary citizens control what they think is fit for their children to see and what not.

However, according to some the V-Chip is not sufficient enough a tool and Nobody's Business reports how dark forces now want to pre-empt parents' ability to regulate content by cracking down on what they deem 'indecent' and what they feel can only be regulated by the state, as if the V-Chip never existed. This has created some ridiculous situations - Saving Private Ryan is now under scrutiny - to the point where the biology of women prior to 10 PM is managed as well, prompting the question : is it time to look into developing the N-Chip?