Inhibiting display of advertisements with age-inappropriate content

Abstract

A method includes determining, at a media device, a rating associated with an advertisement. The method also includes receiving, at the media device, information from one or more sensors, where the information indicates that a viewer (e.g., a child) is located within an area associated with the media device. The method includes determining whether the advertisement includes age-inappropriate content for the viewer based on the rating and based on the information. When the advertisement includes age-inappropriate content for the viewer, the method includes inhibiting display of the advertisement.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a media device, sensor data, wherein the sensor data indicates that a viewer is located within a viewing area associated with presentations by the media device, and wherein the sensor data comprises image data associated with the viewer captured from a plurality of cameras;   estimating, by the media device, an age or an age range of the viewer, wherein the estimating is based on a comparison of the image data to an image snapshot of the viewer stored at the media device as part of a viewer profile for the viewer, and wherein the image snapshot is provided to the media device by an adult viewer;   determining, by the media device, that the viewer is subject to parental controls in accordance with the estimating and in accordance with a confirmation from the adult viewer that the viewer is subject to the parental controls;   making an initial determination that a first advertisement is displayable to the viewer in accordance with the determining that the viewer is subject to the parental controls; and   in response to determining that information processed from the sensor data indicates no children in the viewing area and indicates that viewers in the viewing area are adults, replacing, by the media device, the first advertisement with a second advertisement prior to a presentation by the media device, wherein the second advertisement is determined to be appropriate for a mature audience.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first camera of the plurality of cameras is included in the media device, and wherein a second camera of the plurality of cameras is included in a gaming device that is communicatively coupled to the media device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the making of the initial determination that the first advertisement is displayable to the viewer is based on a first rating associated with the first advertisement. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first advertisement includes metadata that identifies the first rating. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first rating is determined by the media device based on a genre of the first advertisement, the method further comprising:
 sending the second advertisement from the media device to a display device.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the media device determines the first rating of the first advertisement based on closed captioning information associated with the first advertisement. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining that the viewer is located within the viewing area in response to detecting a token. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the token is detectable based on a radio frequency identification signal or a near-field communication signal. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the token is transmitted by a device of a child. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, in response to determining that second information processed from the sensor data indicates a child in the viewing area, sending the first advertisement to a display device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising preventing display of the second advertisement during a time period when the second information processed from the sensor data indicates the child in the viewing area, wherein the preventing display of the second advertisement includes displaying a third advertisement with a rating appropriate for children or displaying an alternative channel that includes age-appropriate content for the viewer. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor data comprises a wireless signal transmitted by a mobile computing device of a child. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the wireless signal includes a media access control (MAC) address of the mobile computing device, and wherein the making of the initial determination that the first advertisement is displayable to the viewer is further in accordance with the MAC address. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor data comprises temperature data, the method further comprising:
 determining, by the media device, that the viewer has entered the viewing area based on detecting an increase in temperature in the viewing area in accordance with the temperature data.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor data comprises a first signal received by the media device from a remote control. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first signal indicates that the viewer is a child, wherein the making of the initial determination that the first advertisement is displayable to the viewer is further based on the first signal, and wherein the information processed from the sensor data that indicates no children in the viewing area and indicates that viewers in the viewing area are adults is based on a second signal received by the media device from the remote control subsequent to receipt of the first signal by the media device. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing instructions executable by a processor of a media device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving, by the media device, sensor data from a sensor, wherein the sensor data indicates that a viewer is located within an area associated with presentations by the media device, and wherein the sensor data comprises image data associated with the viewer captured from at least one camera;   estimating, by the media device, an age or an age range of the viewer, wherein the estimating is based on a comparison of the image data to an image snapshot of the viewer stored at the media device as part of a viewer profile for the viewer, and wherein the image snapshot is provided to the media device by an adult viewer;   making an initial determination, by the media device and in accordance with the estimating and in accordance with a confirmation from the adult viewer that the viewer is subject to parental controls, that a first advertisement is displayable to the viewer; and   in response to determining that information processed from the sensor data indicates no children in the area and indicates that viewers in the area are adults, replacing, by the media device, the first advertisement with a second advertisement prior to a presentation by the media device, wherein the second advertisement is determined to be appropriate for a mature audience.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 17 , wherein the making of the initial determination that the first advertisement is displayable to the viewer is based on a first rating associated with the first advertisement, and wherein the operations further comprise, in response to determining that second information processed from the sensor data indicates a child in the area, sending the first advertisement to a display device. 
     
     
         19 . A media device comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory in communication with the processor, the memory including instructions executable by the processor to perform operations, the operations including:
 estimating, by the media device, an age or an age range of a viewer in a viewing area associated with presentations by the media device in accordance with sensor data from a sensor, wherein the sensor data comprises image data associated with the viewer captured from a plurality of cameras, wherein the estimating is based on a comparison of the image data to an image snapshot of the viewer stored at the media device as part of a viewer profile for the viewer, and wherein the image snapshot is provided to the media device by an adult viewer; and 
 making an initial determination that a first advertisement is displayable to the viewer in response to determining that the viewer is subject to parental controls in accordance with the estimating and in accordance with a confirmation from the adult viewer that the viewer is subject to the parental controls. 
   
     
     
         20 . The media device of  claim 19 , wherein the operations further include:
 in response to determining that information processed from the sensor data indicates no children located in the viewing area and indicates that viewers in the viewing area are adults, replacing the first advertisement with a second advertisement prior to a presentation by the media device, wherein the second advertisement is determined to be appropriate for a mature audience.