A system and method implemented in an interactive television system for restricting or controlling the access rights of interactive television applications and carousels. The system broadcasts modules from a broadcast station to a plurality of receiving stations, which execute applications containing the modules. In one embodiment, the applications utilize a credential consisting of a producer identification number (ID) and an application ID for each of the grantor and grantee applications, an expiration date, a set of permission data, a producer certificate and a signature. An application requesting access and a carousel granting access may be identified by respective producer and application IDs. The credential utilizes public key encryption to ensure the integrity of the credential. The producer and application IDs may be replaced with wildcards so that rights may be granted to a group of producers or applications.