In practice the V-chip didn't dial out and couldn't really accept orders from a central authority. A v-chip owner could set programs of a given rating to not be

In practice the V-chip didn't dial out and couldn't really accept orders from a central authority. A v-chip owner could set programs of a given rating to not be displayed without a password. I suppose the system could have been suborned to make all tv shows have the most strict rating blocking it on TV with the chip enabled... but if you have that power you can just turn off the TV signal. Anyway the lack of central control prevented it from being meaningful.