Shapiro Wants ‘Unprecedented Joint Effort’ on Hearing Loss, DTV and Other Issues

CEA head Gary Shapiro wants members to tell consumers more about hearing loss and the looming analog shutoff in TV.
Shapiro is president/CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. He wrote to members asking them to “educate and mobilize consumers around four primary issues.” They are hearing loss prevention, DTV, the V-chip and home recording rights.
“With a unified voice, we can help consumers and protect our industry and your business from government regulation,” he wrote.
He called for members to include a brochure on safe listening when they ship headsets for MP3s and other relevant portable devices.
He said industry must go further to educate consumers about DTV and the law requiring analog broadcasting to end by early 2009, so they understand the impact. “This hard cut-off is certain to generate digital sales, but also cause consumer confusion and concern,” he wrote.
Shapiro also asked retailers and manufacturers to promote consumer awareness of the V-chip and to ask consumers for help in CEA’s lobbying on home recording rights.