Does the Ofcom Broadcasting Code apply to the video or programme I am making, and what does Rule 2.2 mean in plain terms?
The Broadcasting Code applies to radio and TV content on Ofcom-licensed services (plus BBC licence-fee services and S4C) and binds broadcasters through their licences; notified on-demand providers fall under separate rules; Ofcom regulates accuracy as such only in news (Section Five), and 'materially misleading' depends on context and potential harm or offence. Whether it reaches an independent creator's online video is not stated in the Code read.
The Broadcasting Code applies to radio and TV content on Ofcom-licensed services (plus BBC licence-fee services and S4C) and binds broadcasters through their licences; notified on-demand providers fall under separate rules; Ofcom regulates accuracy as such only in news (Section Five), and 'materially misleading' depends on context and potential harm or offence. Whether it reaches an independent creator's online video is not stated in the Code read.
Curator qualifications: Regulatory texts read 2026-10-22 via archived copies; not legal advice.
Limitations: Regulatory texts read 2026-10-22 via archived copies; not legal advice.
Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
{
"citations": [
{
"url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20240505133457id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/132073/Broadcast-Code-Full.pdf",
"note": "Ofcom Broadcasting Code (2019) PDF, Legislative Background; Section 2 guidance notes"
},
{
"url": "https://web.archive.org/web/2id_/https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-guidance/programme-guidance/broadcast-code-guidance/section-2-guidance-notes.pdf?v=322622",
"note": "Ofcom Broadcasting Code (2019) PDF, Legislative Background; Section 2 guidance notes"
}
]
}Evidence claims
- [sourced_fact] The Broadcasting Code applies to radio and TV content on Ofcom-licensed services (plus BBC licence-fee services and S4C) and binds broadcasters through their licences; notified on-demand providers fall under separate rules; Ofcom regulates accuracy as such only in news (Section Five), and 'materially misleading' depends on context and potential harm or offence. Whether it reaches an independent creator's online video is not stated in the Code read. · locator: Ofcom Broadcasting Code (2019) PDF, Legislative Background; Section 2 guidance notes source
Rights
| component | license | hosting | redistribution | modification | training | Evidence and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| documentation | unknown | permitted | permitted | unknown | unknown | Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources. |
Linked records
- cites → https://web.archive.org/web/20240505133457id_/https:/www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/132073/Broadcast-Code-Full.pdf
- cites → https://web.archive.org/web/2id_/https:/www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-guidance/programme-guidance/broadcast-code-guidance/section-2-guidance-notes.pdf?v=322622