Privacy and Injunctions - Evidence - Parliament

ITV—Written evidence
Has privacy regulation ever restricted your ability to report on particular issues
which you would otherwise have reported?
Not significantly. The regulatory framework within which we operate has not prevented us
from reporting on any issue of public interest. It goes without saying that there are daily
difficult and challenging judgement calls to be made in the area of privacy, but we see this as
a natural consequence of the responsibilities we have as a public service broadcaster with a
licence to broadcast into living rooms throughout the country.
In recent years ITV has carried out many successful investigative programmes, sometimes
involving some degree of infringement of privacy, for example with covert filming, which has
been warranted given the public interest in the subject matter. We have very rarely been
subject to applications for pre-broadcast injunctions, despite the fact that, unlike
newspapers, we are obliged by the Code to give programme subjects timely notice of
allegations being made about them.
Are you happy with the Ofcom rules and practices in this area? Should any of
them be revised or redrafted? How does Ofcom interpret and apply its privacy
code?
Broadly, yes. The Code rehearses examples of public interest, which set a high bar for the
justification of infringements of privacy, but we do not feel that the right of freedom of
expression is unreasonably fettered in this regard. Inevitably we may not always agree with
the regulator when it makes findings on privacy, but largely we believe this is an area where
Ofcom has shown a proper regard for the need to balance Article 8 and 10 rights. In any
privacy case, much will turn on the specific facts and circumstances, and public interest
cannot usefully be reduced to an exhaustive list. However, Ofcom’s Code is sufficiently
clear and consistent enough for broadcasters to understand their obligations and to ensure
they broadcast compliant news, current affairs and factual programmes.
Furthermore, Ofcom consults regularly on updating the Code to reflect developments in the
law and public attitudes.
Ofcom’s procedures for the handling of complaints and consideration of sanctions have
recently been streamlined, and now offer broadcasters no formal appeal or review of
decisions (other than judicial review). Notwithstanding this, we do not have serious
concerns about the way Ofcom has handled privacy complaints or applies the Code in this
area.
Historically ITV has not had its own equivalent to the BBC Editorial Guidelines or the
Independent Producer’s Handbook produced by Channels 4 and 5. It does however have a
number of internal policy and guidance documents, but the bedrock of these documents
remains the Code.
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