Violence and mass media: Are laws and regulations effective?

In Germany, there are several laws and legal and administrative regulations restricting presentation and propagation of violence in mass media. They have proven to be partly effective. Whilst control and supervision of public media is feasible, the containment of what is distributed over the internet proves to be very difficult. It is well recognized that laws and regulations can be only one part of protection for children and youngsters; school, kindergarten and above all the parents must be educated and held responsible for creating media competence in children and adolescents.