Public Inquiry into Ofcom's guidance on broadcast standards during the pandemic

Open an independent Public Inquiry into Ofcom's guidance on broadcast standards during the coronavirus pandemic. This should consider whether this guidance prevented discussion of concerns about vaccines, and whether that resulted in unnecessary injuries or deaths, or symptoms being ignored.

Guidelines from May 2020 suggests that broadcasters take particular care when broadcasting “statements that seek to question or undermine the advice of public health bodies on the Coronavirus, or otherwise undermine people’s trust in the advice of mainstream sources of information about the disease”.

This may have made broadcasters less likely to broadcast content of experts and whistleblowers who were critical of Government policy on the vaccination rollout.

We believe these guidelines also create barriers for victims of vaccine injuries to make their stories heard.

Ofcom is the UK’s regulator for broadcasting and by law carries out its duties independently of the Government. The Government is committed to a free and independent media and does not interfere with Ofcom's regulatory or operational decisions, including how content is regulated. It is the Government’s view that a public inquiry is not necessary as the guidance Ofcom produced for broadcasters during the pandemic provided advice to broadcasters on how to conform to existing rules, it did not introduce new restrictions on broadcast content.

Ofcom is required by legislation, and accountable to Parliament, to draw up and enforce a Broadcasting Code for television to ensure that audiences are adequately protected from harm. Within the Code, there are rules in place to ensure that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. During the coronavirus pandemic, Ofcom set out that they expect broadcasters to be alert to the potential for significant harm to audiences related to the coronavirus, including health claims related to the virus which may be harmful, medical advice which may be harmful, and accuracy or material misleadingness in programmes in relation to the virus or public policy regarding it. Ofcom also stated that, consistent with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters have the editorial freedom to analyse, discuss and challenge issues related to the coronavirus. More detail on Ofcom’s regulation of broadcast standards during the pandemic can be found here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/information-for-industry/guidance/broadcast-standards-and-coronavirus.