The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting,
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
,
telecommunication
Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
s and
postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms, internet and postal sectors. It has a statutory duty to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from harmful or offensive material.
Some of the main areas Ofcom regulates are TV and radio standards, broadband and phones, video-sharing platforms online, the wireless spectrum and postal services.
The regulator was initially established by the (c. 11) and received its full authority from the
Communications Act 2003
The Communications Act 2003 (c. 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act, which came into force on 25 July 2003, superseded the Telecommunications Act 1984. The new act was the responsibility of Culture Secretary Tessa ...
(c. 21).
History
On 20 June 2001, the
Queen's Speech to the
UK Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
announced the creation of Ofcom. The new body, which was to replace several existing authorities, was conceived as a "super-regulator" to oversee media channels that were rapidly converging through digital transmission.
On 29 December 2003, Ofcom launched, formally inheriting the duties that had previously been the responsibility of five different regulators:
*the Broadcasting Standards Commission
*the
Independent Television Commission
The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales) between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003.
History
The creation of ITC, by the Broadcasting Act ...
*the
Office of Telecommunications (Oftel)
*the Radio Authority
*the Radiocommunications Agency
In July 2009,
Conservative Party opposition leader
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
referenced Ofcom in a speech against the proliferation of
quangos:
Under Cameron's subsequent premiership of the
2010 UK coalition government, the
Public Bodies Act 2011
The Public Bodies Act 2011c 24 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for t ...
did remove or modify several of Ofcom's duties, although it did not substantially reduce Ofcom's remit.
On 1 October 2011, Ofcom took over responsibility for regulating the postal services industry from the
Postal Services Commission (Postcomm).
In April 2015, Ofcom announced that telephone companies would have to provide customers with a set charge for the cost of calling numbers starting with 084, 087 and 09. The streamlining of these charges must be printed in each customer's contract and monthly bills. The change came into force on 1 July 2015 and affected over 175 million phone numbers, making it the biggest overhaul of telephoning in over a decade.
On 1 January 2016, the regulation of
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
was transferred to Ofcom from
ATVOD, the Authority for Television on Demand.
The
Digital Economy Act 2017 extended Ofcom's remit and powers. Ofcom were given powers concerning the minimum broadband speed provided by
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...
s, the ability to financially penalise communications providers for failing to comply with licence commitments and the power to require
public service broadcasters to include a minimum quantity of children's programming made in the United Kingdom. The act also transferred to Ofcom the regulation of the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, a duty previously undertaken by the
BBC Trust, and updated the Ofcom Electronic Communications Code to make it easier for
telecommunications companies to erect and extend mobile masts.
Following a consultation over the
Online Harms White Paper published by the
UK government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. in April 2019, the government announced in February 2020 that it intended Ofcom to have a greater role in Internet regulation to protect users from "harmful and illegal content".
In July 2022, Ofcom received additional tools to prevent, identify and remove any content that depicts child sexual abuse and exploitation. These tools will be introduced through an amendment to the Online Safety Bill. Ofcom will be allowed to penalise those tech firms that do not comply, either by fines up to £18m or by 10% of the company's annual turnover, whichever amount is higher.
On 1 February 2025, Ofcom took the regulation of Controlled Premium Rate Services (CPRS) back in-house.
These services were previously regulated by the
Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) which was disbanded on 31 January 2025 as Ofcom withdrew its formal approval of the former PSA Code of Practice.
News International phone hacking scandal
In July 2011, in the wake of the News International phone hacking scandal, Ofcom came under pressure to launch an inquiry into whether the parent company of
News International
News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...
,
News Corporation
The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
, was still the "fit and proper" owner of a controlling stake in the satellite broadcasting company
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). On 13 July former Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
urged Ofcom to launch an investigation. On 15 July the Deputy Prime Minister
Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
stated that the Government would launch a review of laws on what constituted a "fit and proper" owner for broadcasting companies in the United Kingdom, and that anyone found not to meet that standard can be forced to give up their current holdings in a company.
On 22 July 2011, it was reported that Ofcom had begun an investigation into whether the phone-hacking scandal may have changed BSkyB's status as the "fit and proper" holder of a UK broadcasting licence. On the same day
Ed Richards, the then chief executive of Ofcom, replied to
Simon Hughes MP,
Don Foster MP and
Tim Farron MP following a letter which they had written to him on 8 July concerning News Corporation's shareholding in BSkyB.
In the letter Richards confirmed that Ofcom considers that News Corporation's current shareholding of 39.14% in BSkyB does give it a material influence over the company; that Ofcom is not precluded from acting by ongoing police investigations; and that Ofcom's process is not dependent upon a criminal conviction being secured.
[
In April 2012, Ofcom's probe moved from a monitoring phase to an "evidence gathering" phase.
]
Timeline of communications regulators
* Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
Activities
Television and radio
Ofcom licenses all UK commercial television and radio services in the UK. Broadcasters must comply by the terms of their licence, or risk having it revoked. Ofcom also publishes the Broadcasting Code, a series of rules which all broadcast content on television and radio must follow. The Broadcasting Code requires that content inappropriate for children should not be broadcast between the hours of 5:30a.m. and 9:00p.m. Premium-rate film services may broadcast content equivalent to a BBFC 15 certificate at any time of day provided a PIN-protected system is in place to restrict access to those authorised to view it. The broadcasting of pornography with a BBFC R18 certificate is not permitted. In 2010 Ofcom revoked the licences of four free-to-air television channels for promoting adult chat services during daytime hours and transmitting content that was too sexually explicit. The companies involved were fined £157,250. Ofcom's jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
does not cover television and radio channels which are broadcast in the UK but licensed abroad. In 2012 Ofcom lodged a complaint with the Dutch media regulator regarding the content of adult chat television channels which are broadcast in the UK but licensed in the Netherlands. Based on a survey of 200 British respondents, Ofcom published in 2016 a list of about 50 words classified in four grades of offensiveness, from "milder" to "strongest".
Telephone and broadband
Ofcom regulates the UK telecoms sector, defining and enforcing the conditions by which all mobile and fixed-line phone and broadband companies must abide. These "general conditions" are wide-ranging rules relating to matters such as telephone numbering, emergency services, sales, marketing and interconnection standards. General condition 14.4 requires communications providers to maintain a complaints handling code approved by Ofcom, and general condition 14.7 requires an approved alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...
(ADR) scheme to be in place. Ofcom's investigation unit monitors compliance with the conditions and resolves disputes between providers.
Ofcom is also the competition authority for telecoms, enforcing remedies in markets where it believes dominant operators may have a potentially harmful influence on competition or consumers. One of its most high-profile interventions was to require BT to split its wholesale and retail arms into separate companies, bringing about the creation of Openreach which supplies wholesale services to both BT Retail and competing providers.
On 1 July 2015, Ofcom made a number of changes to the way phone calls to UK service numbers would be charged. Under the new legislation, which was promoted by an information campaign entitled UK Calling, call charges must be clearly stated on all materials that advertise a service number. The changes came after research found that callers are often confused about service call charges, and thus can avoid calling these numbers. The July 2015 changes also saw 'freephone numbers' 0800 and 0808 become free to call from both mobiles and landlines.
In March 2016, Ofcom launched an interactive "Mobile coverage and fixed broadband checker", allowing people to check mobile coverage and broadband speeds via their post code.
Spectrum licensing and protection
Ofcom is responsible for the management, regulation, assignment and licensing of the electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of electromagnetic radiation, organized by frequency or wavelength. The spectrum is divided into separate bands, with different names for the electromagnetic waves within each band. From low to high ...
in the UK, and licenses portions of it for use in television and radio broadcasts, mobile phone transmissions, private communications networks, wireless devices and so on. The process of licensing varies depending on the type of use required. Some licences simply have to be applied and paid for; other commercial licences are subject to a bidding process. Most of the procedures in place have been inherited from the systems used by the previous regulators. However, Ofcom may change some of these processes in future.
Ofcom protects the radio spectrum in a number of ways:
* Working within international organisations ( ITU, CEPT and BEREC).
* Licensing UK-controlled commercial radio spectrum; the Ministry of Defence controls its own spectrum. Within the international framework for frequency use; Ofcom liaises through the UK Government to produce the UKFAT (UK Frequency Allocation Table). The current table was produced in 2017.
* Investigate and, when necessary, carry out enforcement activities to clear interference or illegal use from the spectrum. Until June 2010 Ofcom investigated all interference cases within the UK. Interference reporting has now been transferred to the BBC. This contract specifically excludes any requirement to investigate interference relating to AM radio reception. Commercial and spectrum licence holders report to Ofcom and in all cases illegal ("pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
") radio operations are still reported to Ofcom.
Postal services
In October 2010 the government announced plans for Ofcom to inherit the functions of Postcomm as part of a wider set of public service sell-off measures. Following the Postal Services Act 2011
The Postal Services Act 2011 (c. 5) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act enabled the British Government to sell shares in Royal Mail to private investors and includes the possible mutualisation of the Post Office.
The act ...
regulatory responsibility for postal services transferred to Ofcom on 1 October 2011, with its primary duty to maintain the UK's six-day-a-week universal postal service.
Consultations
Ofcom makes extensive use of consultations with industry and the public to help it make decisions based upon the evidence presented. Consultation processes begin with publishing documents on its website, asking for views and responses. If the document is perceived to be long and complicated, a plain English
Plain English (also referred to as layman's terms) is a mode of writing or speaking the English language intended to be easy to understand regardless of one's familiarity with a given topic. It usually avoids the use of rare words and uncommon euph ...
summary is usually published as well. A period, usually of 10 weeks, is allowed for interested persons, companies or organisations to send in their responses to the consultation.
After this consultation period, Ofcom publishes all the responses on its website, excluding any personal or confidential information. Ofcom then prepares a summary of the responses received, and uses this information as a basis for its decisions.
Leadership
Current board membership of Ofcom is listed on its Web site, which may be more up-to-date than this article.
Current
Michael Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth was appointed as chairman of Ofcom for a four-year term from 1 May 2022. Melanie Dawes was appointed Chief Executive on 12 February 2020.
Historical
The first chairman of Ofcom (2002–2009) was David Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone, Dean of Cass Business School
Bayes Business School, formerly known as Cass Business School, is the business school of City St George's, University of London, located in St Luke's, just to the north of the City of London. It was established in 1966.
Bayes Business School ...
at City University. The first chief executive (2003–2007) was Stephen Carter, Baron Carter of Barnes, formerly a senior executive of JWT UK and NTL and subsequently a Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.
Colette Bowe was appointed Ofcom chairman with effect from 11 March 2009. She was the founding chairman of the Telecoms Ombudsman Council, and chaired Ofcom's Consumer Panel from its inception in 2003 to December 2007.
Dame Patricia Hodgson was appointed as chairman of Ofcom for a three-year term from April 2014. She was a member of the Ofcom board from July 2011 and became deputy chairman in January 2012. On 18 July 2016, it was announced that her term would be extended for a further year until 2018.
Sharon White was Ofcom's chief executive from 2015 to 2019, having replaced Ed Richards in the role.
After Sharon White was appointed the Chief Executive of John Lewis in June 2019, the office of Chief Executive remained open until Jonathan Oxley was appointed as Interim Chief Executive. In February 2020, it was announced that Melanie Dawes would become the new Chief Executive.
On 15 March 2016, it was announced that Steve Gettings would become Corporation Secretary in succession to Graham Howell.
Key personnel
Ofcom's key personnel are:
* Chief Executive, Melanie Dawes, appointed February 2020
* Board members:
** Maggie Carver, Deputy Chair, appointed September 2018
** Jonathan Oxley, appointed January 2015
** Graham Mather, appointed June 2014
** Ben Verwaayen, appointed January 2016
** Tim Suter, appointed September 2017
** Bob Downes, appointed February 2018
** Angela Dean, appointed September 2018
**David Jones, appointed April 2019
Ofcom publishes a register of disclosable interests of the Ofcom board.
Chairman of Ofcom
;Status
Chief Executive Officer of Ofcom
*29 December 2003 – 31 July 2006 Stephen Carter
*1 August 2006 – 5 October 2006 Chairman of Ofcom (Acting)
*5 October 2006 – 31 December 2014 Ed Richards
*1 January 2015 – 23 March 2015 Steve Unger (Acting)
*23 March 2015 – 27 November 2019 Sharon White
*27 November 2019 – March 2020 Jonathan Oxley (Acting)
*March 2020 – present Melanie Dawes
Ofcom committees
Ofcom has a number of committees and advisory bodies which inform the Ofcom Board and Executive. These include:
* Communications Consumer Panel The Communications Consumer Panel is an independent UK body that works to protect and promote people's interests in the communications sector. Consisting of eight independent experts, the Panel carries out research, provides advice and encourages Of ...
(CCP)
* Advisory Committee for Older and Disabled People (ACOD)
* Risk and Audit Committee
* Nominations Committee
* Remuneration Committee
* Election Committee
* Non-Executive Remuneration Committee
* Nations Committee
* Advisory Committee for England
* Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland
* Advisory Committee for Scotland
* Advisory Committee for Wales
* Community Radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting.
Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...
Fund Panel
* Ofcom Spectrum
A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...
Advisory Board (OSAB)
* Broadcast Licensing Committee
Ofcom is also involved in a number of other independent organisations including being an observer member of NICC Standards Ltd.
UK hate speech regulation
Since 1 January 2021, Ofcom has defined hate speech as "all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, social origin, sex, gender, gender reassignment, nationality, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, colour, genetic features, language, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth or age." However, there is concern that Ofcom's broad definition of hate speech can easily result in the unjustified censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
of controversial opinions, however legitimate they might be.
Controversies
Expenditure
Ofcom has received criticism for incurring unnecessary costs as a result of "extravagant Thames-side offices" and a "top-heavy salary bill", for inflexibility in its regulation of commercial radio, and for "poor service". In response to ongoing expenditure concerns, Ofcom made the following statement regarding the 2017/2018 budget: "Ofcom has delivered 12 consecutive years of like-for-like real-terms budget reductions, and we will continue to reduce spending wherever we can."
Al Jazeera
The Qatar-based news media outlet was reported to Ofcom in January 2017, following an exposé about Israeli diplomatic corps irregularities and influence peddling amongst political and student groups in the UK.
After investigations exceeding eight months, Ofcom reported that Al Jazeera was in line with journalism standards and cleared the filmmakers of the allegations.
Press TV
In May 2011, Ofcom ruled that Press TV, an Iranian English-language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
satellite channel, was responsible for a serious breach of UK broadcasting rules and could face a fine for airing an interview with Maziar Bahari, the ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' journalist arrested covering the Iranian presidential election in 2009, that was obtained by force while he was held in a Tehran jail. Press TV said that Bahari did not "dispute the truth and accuracy" of the extract of the interview, so it made "no logical sense" to require his consent.
Sitefinder database and freedom of information
The Sitefinder database is a national database of mobile phone base stations in the UK. In September 2007, an Information Tribunal ruled that the public should have access to the database under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public right of access to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in t ...
. However, as Ofcom has no legal power to force mobile phone operators to add information to the database, UK mobile phone operators consequently ceased updating it.
Ofcom appealed against the Freedom of Information Act ruling, together with one UK mobile operator – T-Mobile. This has led to accusations of the organisation's complicity with the mobile telecommunications industry in keeping information about mast locations secret. Ofcom's stated reasons for the appeal have ranged from "preventing terrorist attacks" on the sites of phone masts to "protecting the intellectual property" of the mobile telecommunications industry.
In April 2008, the High Court found in favour of the Information Commissioner's Office
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It is the independent regu ...
and over-ruled Ofcom's objections. Ofcom appealed to the Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, who in turn referred a point of law to the European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
, and then in October 2011 ordered that the matter should be remitted to the Information Rights Tribunal to reconsider the public interest balancing exercise. On 12 December 2012, the Information Rights Tribunal upheld its decision of 4 September 2007.
Deryn Consulting controversy
In 2017, Ofcom's advisory committee for Wales awarded Deryn Consulting a contract to monitor the National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
and Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
. It was subsequently reported that the contract had not been put out to tender and that Huw Roberts and Nerys Evans held positions for both Deryn and Ofcom. The contract was terminated and Ofcom concluded that it had broken its own procurement rules.
Abu Dhabi TV
Abu Dhabi TV, owned by the Abu Dhabi Media state enterprise, was condemned by Ofcom for broadcasting a televised interview of the confessions made by a Qatari citizen, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Jaida, while he was detained arbitrarily in the Abu Dhabi prisons in 2013. The National Human Rights Committee of the State of Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
welcomed Ofcom's decision. Under the decision, it was stated that on 28 June 2017, the Abu Dhabi TV channel, which is affiliated with Abu Dhabi Media Company P.J.S.C "ADMC", licensed under Ofcom had broadcast
Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
an interview recording titled "Mahmoud Al-Jaidah and the clandestine organization in UAE". According to the decision, the aired interview was recorded against the consent of Dr. Al-Jaidah, who was physically tortured during his time in the Abu Dhabi prison. The activity had constituted a serious breach of the principles of fairness and privacy detailed in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
CGTN
In 2019, Ofcom began an investigation into the Chinese international channel CGTN, owned by state broadcaster China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...
(CCTV), following allegations that a forced confession from British former journalist Peter Humphrey was broadcast on the channel. In addition, it also received four formal complaints over similar alleged confessions. In November, Hong Kong activist and former UK consulate worker Simon Cheng filed a complaint to Ofcom a week after CGTN released a video of him admitting to "soliciting prostitution", which Cheng said he was forced to make.
In early 2021, Ofcom revoked the UK broadcasting licence of CGTN. In a statement, it noted that the licence holder for the channel, Star China Media Ltd., did not have editorial responsibility over the channel, which was against legal requirements. It was also unable to hand over the licence to a corporation called "China Global Television Network Corporation" (CGTNC), on the grounds that the company was "ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which is not permitted under UK broadcasting law". Ofcom later fined CGTN £225,000 for "breaching rules on fairness, privacy and due impartiality".
Following the revocation, both the Chinese government and state media began targeting the BBC, accusing it of producing "fake news" in its coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China and the Xinjiang internment camps. CGTN itself claimed that Ofcom was "manipulated by extreme right-wing organizations and anti-China forces".
Criticism of Michael Grade
In June 2022, the BBC's historian, Jean Seaton, publicy said that Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 8 March 1943) is an English Media proprietor, television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive ...
"is too lazy, too old, and has too many conflicts of interest," according to ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. She called his appointment as chairman a means of "bullying" the BBC.
GB News
Ofcom has been criticized by some for being seen as too lenient on GB News
GB News is a British free-to-air, editorial, opinion-orientated television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview (UK), Freeview, Freesat, Sky UK, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus, LG web ...
, which has breached Ofcom rules on a regular basis. Despite having found GB News in breach of Ofcom rules 11 times in a year, Ofcom has refused to levy any fines or penalties against the network, instead preferring to simply issue warnings. Ofcom has previously also stated that GB News can use sitting politicians as presenters on its network. Andrew Neil, the founder of GB News who has since left, has said that Ofcom needs to "grow a backbone and quick” regarding letting politicians host TV programmes.
See also
* Overton window
* Advertising Standards Authority
* Annan Committee, that in 1977 recommended the establishment of a Broadcasting Complaints Commission
* Broadband stakeholder group
* Office of Fair Trading
*Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Ind ...
* ATVOD
* ITSPA
* ISPA
* Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)
*International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU:
*
* is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...
* List of telecommunications regulatory bodies
* Roskomnadzor
References
External links
*
Ofcom Broadcast Codes
Quick video guide to Ofcom for broadcast journalists
{{Coord, 51.5079, -0.0953, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Radio in the United Kingdom
Television in the United Kingdom
Communications authorities
Communications in the United Kingdom
Mass media complaints authorities
Postal system of the United Kingdom
Statutory corporations of the United Kingdom government
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Government agencies established in 2003
Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark
2003 establishments in the United Kingdom
Regulators of the United Kingdom
Telecommunications in the United Kingdom
Telecommunications regulatory authorities
Consumer organisations in the United Kingdom