On March 17, 2026, the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) dismissed an appeal by David Babbs, lead consultant for Clean Up the Internet, who had sought records of Ofcom’s meetings with Meta, X/Twitter, Google/YouTube, and ByteDance/TikTok about the Illegal Content Codes of Practice under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA)(Babbs v Information Commissioner [2026] UKFTT 389 (GRC)). Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Tag: Ofcom
The government is finalising its choice for the vacant position of chair of the UK’s broadcasting and telecoms regulator, Ofcom. Continue reading
Imagine a bank appointing a confirmed Marxist as its CEO, or an oil company doing likewise with a passionate campaigner against fossil fuels. Sounds crazy? Continue reading
On 23 March 2020, UK communications regulator Ofcom issued guidance on content standards during the pandemic. Building on the generally applicable Broadcast Content Code, the Ofcom guidance highlighted the importance of sections 2 and 5. Section 2 deals with harm and offence; section 5 with impartiality and accuracy. Continue reading
In deciding what to write about for this post I was not short of topics and material. I could have talked about how the Court of Justice of the European Union has, in one fell swoop, caused a headache of Captain Jack Sparrow-hangover proportions (more on him in a moment) for many businesses around Europe by invalidating the EU-US Privacy Shield. Continue reading
ITV‘s decision to permanently suspend the production of The Jeremy Kyle Show is making headlines. However, this should not come as a surprise given recent controversies surrounding duty of care issues in reality television programmes. Ofcom and MPs must tread very carefully in proposing new duty of care obligations on broadcasters to look after adult contributors. Continue reading
LAST WEEK there were two major announcements about Rupert Murdoch. On Tuesday the Times revealed he was engaged to fellow American citizen Jerry Hall. They’re planning a marriage. On the same day Press Gang asked Ofcom to hold an inquiry into the media mogul’s fitness to hold the Sky TV licence. We’re planning a divorce. Continue reading
AT THE beginning of 2016 Rupert Murdoch once again dominates British media. David Cameron is back on side. Juries have refused to convict Sun journalists of bribing corrupt police officers. The threat of a tough new media regulator has all but vanished. In September Murdoch felt strong enough to rehabilitate his beloved Rebekah Brooks. In December the most dangerous threat — the possibility of corporate charges — was lifted. Continue reading
After an investigation spanning some 14 months, Ofcom ruled last week that British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB) was “fit and proper” to hold a broadcasting licence. The overall decision is unsurprising, given that BSkyB has a good Ofcom compliance record and is a separate company from News Group Newspapers Limited (NGN), and James Murdoch is not the only director of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (Sky), BSkyB’s parent company. Continue reading
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