Fairness and Privacy

The Ofcom Broadcasting Code sets out separate principles for fairness and for privacy. Section Seven's principle is "to ensure that broadcasters avoid unjust or unfair treatment of individuals or organisations in programmes", with the linked rule stating that "broadcasters must avoid unjust or unfair treatment of individuals or organisations in programmes" (Rule 7.1). Section Eight's principle is "to ensure that broadcasters avoid any unwarranted infringement of privacy in programmes and in connection with obtaining material included in programmes", with Rule 8.1 providing that "any infringement of privacy in programmes, or in connection with obtaining material included in programmes, must be warranted." Both sections also set out non-exhaustive "practices to be followed" covering matters such as informed consent, fair representation of contributors' views, and the treatment of people caught up in emergencies or under criminal investigation.

The two sections operate together but protect different interests: fairness is chiefly about how individuals and organisations are portrayed and treated in the editorial process, while privacy concerns unwarranted intrusion into a person's private life, both in the making of a programme (e.g. filming or recording) and in what is ultimately broadcast. Ofcom investigates complaints under both sections and can find a broadcaster in breach even where the "practices to be followed" were technically observed, or conversely find no breach despite a departure from practice, since the ultimate test is whether the treatment was unfair or the infringement of privacy unwarranted.