Television and radio licensees
This document outlines Ofcom's procedures for the handling and resolution of complaints (or for the conduct of its own investigations) about broadcasters' compliance with the content standards set out under section 319 of the Communications Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act"). These procedures are effective from 3 April 2017.
Procedures for investigating breaches of content standards for television and radio
(PDF, 230.2 KB)
This document outlines the procedures for Ofcom’s consideration and adjudication of Fairness and Privacy complaints in relation to programmes broadcast on television and radio and broadcasters’ compliance with Ofcom’s “fairness code” under section 107 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (as amended)(“the 1996 Act”). These procedures are effective from 3 April 2017.
Procedures for the consideration and adjudication of Fairness and Privacy complaints (PDF, 247.1 KB)
This document outlines Ofcom’s general procedures for investigating possible breaches by broadcaster which are not covered by any of the specific procedures set out below.
Category of regulatory requirement | Specific procedure |
|---|---|
Content standards objectives set out under section 319 of the 2003 Act and applied in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code and other codes | Procedures for investigating breaches of content standards for television and radio |
Fairness and/or privacy requirements set out under Part 5 of the 1996 Act and applied in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. | Procedures for the consideration and adjudication of Fairness & Privacy complaints |
Licence conditions and relevant codes to ensure fair and effective competition in the provision of broadcast services | Enforcement guidelines: Ofcom’s guidelines for the handling of competition complaints and complaints concerning regulatory rules |
The general procedures set out in this document are those Ofcom will usually follow in order to investigate whether a breach of a “relevant requirement” has occurred, before any action may be taken under the procedures for the consideration of statutory sanctions in breaches of broadcast licences (“the sanctions procedures”)
Ofcom may launch investigations on its own initiative as well as investigate complaints made by others. The general procedures in a complaint-led investigation and an Ofcom-initiated investigation are the same.
These procedures are effective from 3 April 2017. They, and any related guidance, may be reviewed and amended at any time.
General procedures for investigating breaches of broadcast licences (PDF, 296.7 KB)
This document outlines the procedures that Ofcom will normally follow when considering the determination of a sanction against a broadcaster for breaches of any requirement of its licence; or in the case of the BBC or S4C, which do not hold a licence, any relevant enforceable requirement. These procedures are effective from 3 April 2017.
These Guidelines set out how Ofcom will investigate compliance with and approach enforcement of competition-related conditions in Broadcasting Act licences.
This document outlines Ofcom’s Procedures for the handling and resolution of complaints (or for the conduct of its own investigations) about the BBC’s compliance with the content standards set under section 319 of the Communications Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) and the BBC Charter and Agreement. These Procedures are effective from 3 April 2017.
Procedures for investigating breaches of content standards on BBC broadcasting services and BBC ODPS (PDF, 208.0 KB) (updated 22 November 2024)
This document outlines the Procedures that Ofcom will normally follow when considering the determination of a sanction against the BBC in relation to a breach of content standards (including in relation to Fairness and Privacy) on UK Public Broadcasting Services (“BBC broadcasting services”) and UK Public On Demand Programme Services (“BBC ODPS”) provided by the BBC. These Procedures are effective from 3 April 2017.
This document outlines the Procedures for Ofcom’s consideration and adjudication of Fairness and Privacy complaints in relation to the BBC’s compliance with Ofcom’s “fairness code” set under section 107 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (“the 1996 Act”) and the BBC Charter and Agreement. These Procedures are effective from 3 April 2017.
This document sets out our procedures for investigating:
- breaches by the BBC of certain requirements set out in the Agreement; and
- a failure by the BBC to comply with enforcement action by Ofcom in accordance with any of Ofcom’s enforcement procedures applicable to the BBC.
This document sets out how Ofcom enforces compliance with the competition requirements by the BBC.
Procedures for enforcement of BBC competition requirements (PDF, 188.2 KB)
This document outlines the procedures Ofcom will normally follow when handling complaints about the editorial standards of BBC online material.
Procedures for handling complaints relating to BBC online content.
On-demand service providers (ODPS)
This document outlines Ofcom’s Procedures for the handling and resolution of complaints (or for the conduct of its own investigations) about potential breaches of rules applying to on-demand programme services (“ODPS”). Procedures are effective from 11 September 2023.
Procedures for investigating breaches of rules for on-demand services (PDF, 234.7 KB)
This document outlines the procedures that Ofcom will normally follow when considering the determination of a sanction against the provider of an on-demand programme service (“ODPS”) for contravention of one (or more) of the requirements imposed on it under Part 4A of the Communications Act 2003 (the “Act”). In this document these requirements are referred to as “relevant requirements”.