Ofcom Section Selector — Which Broadcasting Code Section Applies
The most consequential thing about an Ofcom complaint is not which section it falls under but which route it takes. Standards complaints can be brought by anyone who saw the programme; fairness and privacy complaints can normally only be brought by the person affected — and that distinction decides whether a complaint proceeds at all.
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Ofcom Section Selector
Pick a broadcast situation to see which section of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code applies, what it governs, and who is able to complain. For licensed TV and radio (including the BBC’s broadcast output) — not the press.
Select a situation above to see the relevant Code section.
Section summaries are paraphrased from the Ofcom Broadcasting Code for navigation only. Always rely on the current Code text and take advice on difficult cases. See /disclaimer.
How it works
- One dropdown of ten broadcast situations, mapping to the ten sections of the Broadcasting Code: protecting the under-eighteens, harm and offence, crime and disorder and hatred and abuse, religion, due impartiality and due accuracy, elections and referendums, fairness, privacy, and commercial references on television and on radio.
- For each section it shows the number, title and a paraphrase of what it governs — the watershed and the treatment of under-18s for Section 1; audience expectation, scheduling and context for Section 2; informed consent, the opportunity to respond and unfair editing for Section 7.
- Each section is tagged with its complaint route: “standards”, where anyone may complain whether or not they were personally affected, or “fairness or privacy”, where normally only the person affected or someone with a sufficiently close connection may complain. Sections 7 and 8 are the person-affected ones.
- A standing panel sets out what Ofcom can actually do: publish findings in the Broadcast and On Demand Bulletin, direct a correction or a statement of findings, fine the licensee, and at the extreme shorten or revoke the licence — with the point that unlike a court, Ofcom awards no damages.
- The harm and offence section carries an inline landmark case, and the impartiality, election and privacy situations link through to fuller guides on this site.
When to use it
- Before broadcasting a package that names or criticises an identifiable person, to check the fairness obligations in Section 7 have been met.
- When planning coverage in an election or referendum period, where a separate set of impartiality rules applies.
- When a complaint has been made about a programme and you need to know whether the complainant even has standing under that section.
- When deciding whether surreptitious recording or doorstepping can be warranted under Section 8.
- When commissioning branded or sponsored content for TV or radio, where the rules differ between the two.
What it does not do
- Not legal advice and not the Code. These are paraphrases for navigation; the current Broadcasting Code at ofcom.org.uk is what a licensee is held to, and it is revised periodically.
- It applies to licensed television and radio, including the BBC’s broadcast output. It does not apply to the press, to online-only publishing, or in the same way to on-demand programme services, which sit under a separate set of rules.
- It shows one section per situation. Real Ofcom investigations frequently run under two or three sections at once, and a situation outside the ten-item list returns nothing.
- It cannot judge the content. Almost every Section 2 question turns on context — scheduling, audience expectation, warnings, editorial justification — and none of that is visible to a dropdown.
- The complaint routes described are the general position. Ofcom’s procedures set out who may complain and in what circumstances, and the closeness of connection required for a fairness or privacy complaint is assessed case by case.
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