V-chip is a technology used in television set receivers in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States, that allows the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television viewing based on blocking systems. Televisions manufactured for the United States market since January 2000 are required to have the V-chip technology. Since the idea for blocking programs in this way was patented and tested in Canada by Brett West and John P. Gardner in 1994, the device remains in use into the age of digital television, however it only blocks programming from standard cable and broadcast television and does not block news, sportscasting, movies on premium cable channels, or streamed programs via the internet.