A Texas congressman is set to introduce a bill Tuesday that would take the dramatic step of legislating the digital filtering of indecent content in movies.

Rep. Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House subcommittee on courts, the Internet and intellectual property, also plans to hold a hearing on the Family Movie Act Thursday.

The action comes as Utah-based ClearPlay is in a dispute with the movie studios and the Directors Guild of America over a DVD player that edits movies for sexual content, foul language and violence. The studios and directors contend that such dramatic editing would destroy the artistic value of the films.

It was still unclear Monday what the legislation would include, but it would have to clear the House Judiciary Committee before having any chance at a floor vote.