Privacy & Non-Contributors

Revealing Private Information

An individual's privacy may be infringed by revealing to a wider audience private information about them, for example details of their sex life or family life, regardless of whether or not they are filmed. For example, a divorced spouse who is talking about intimate details of his/her former marriage may be infringing the privacy of his/her former spouse - any such infringement must be warranted. Once again, in the absence of consent, any infringement of privacy must be justifiable in the public interest. The right to freedom of expression coupled with the public interest should 'outweigh' the privacy right that is being infringed.

What amounts to "private information" and whether revealing it, or repeating it, would constitute an unwarranted infringement of privacy depends on a number of factors, which normally would include: the nature of the information; whether or to what extent the information is already in the public domain and, if it is, how it got there; and whether the individual concerned is an ordinary member of the public or is a celebrity or someone in the public eye.

The Code recognises that people under investigation and those in the public eye and their immediate family and friends retain the right to a private life although private behaviour can raise issues of legitimate public interest, for example there may be an overriding public interest in exposing and exploring publicly in a television programme the private life of a politician, if that conflicts with, adversely affects or raises serious questions about his/her public life.

 

Door stepping

In Factual Programmes

'Doorstepping' means filming or recording an interview or attempted interview with someone, or announcing that a call is being filmed or recorded for broadcast, without any prior warning. Inevitably, it will involve an infringement of the privacy of the person being approached and should only be undertaken after careful thought and in the following circumstances, where:

• an interview has been refused; or

• it hasn't been possible to request an interview; or

• there's good reason to believe that contacting the subject will frustrate the purpose of the programme; and,

• in all the circumstances door stepping is justified, that is the public interest outweighs the infringement of privacy.

Programme-makers should always seek advice from their programme lawyer before attempting to 'doorstep' anyone. Careful consideration needs to be given to exactly how the 'doorstep' should be carried out. For example, the security of the crew must be considered, as should the risk of infringing the privacy of innocent third parties, for example family members. For this reason, it will generally be preferable not to 'doorstep' people at their homes.

 

The above rules do not generally apply to attempts to interview or interviews with people in the news in public places, for example approaching a politician on camera outside Parliament, situations involving media scrums.

 

Everyone has the right not to comment. If you are asked to leave property by the owner or to stop questioning or telephoning, you should normally do so.

 

In Entertainment Programmes

In entertainment programmes, the above rules do not need to be followed. However, safeguards should be put in place in order to avoid offence and any unwarranted infringement of privacy. In addition, the material will not be able to be broadcast without the full informed consent of the individual 'door stepped' or filmed.

 

Identifying Where People Live

Information which discloses the precise location of where people live, including celebrities, should not normally be revealed unless it is warranted to do so, for example they have consented, the information is already widely known, or it is in the public interest to do so.

Note: it may be possible to show the house where a particular individual lives without actually identifying where it is, that is not giving the house number or naming the street.
Similarly, care must be taken not to disclose personal e-mail addresses or telephone numbers without consent.

 

Identifying Third Parties

The identity of the family members or friends of those under investigation should not be revealed unless it is warranted to do so.

 

Re-Use of Material

When incorporating into a programme archive footage or material which has been filmed or recorded for another programme or purpose, programme-makers must ensure that this does not result in an unwarranted infringement of privacy, or cause any unfairness.

 

Recording Telephone Calls

It is generally accepted that programme-makers may record telephone calls, without telling the person they are speaking to that the call is being recorded, for research or evidential purposes. However, if the call is being recorded with a view to it being broadcast, the following rules apply:

• Recorded telephone calls may be broadcast as long as, at the start of the call, the programme-maker has identified who they are (for example given the name of the person calling, the programme and broadcaster), explained the purpose of the call and stated that the call is being recorded for possible broadcast. At this point, the person has the choice to terminate the call, so if they continue to talk, it may be assumed they have consented to the call being broadcast.

• Some or all of the above information may be withheld and the recorded call still broadcast if, in all the circumstances, it is warranted, for example it's justified by the public interest (see 'Surreptitious or Secret Filming' below).

• If a call has been recorded and the other party was not told because, at the time, it was not intended for broadcast but it later transpires the programme-makers do wish to broadcast it, consent should be sought from the other party unless it is warranted to broadcast the call without consent, for example it is justified by the public interest or the person is not reasonably identifiable.

 

Surreptitious or Secret Filming

The following rules must be followed. In addition, seek advice from your programme lawyer from the earliest stage secret filming is contemplated.

All secret filming and recording (including recording telephone conversations and also where a subject does not realise that a visible camera is actually recording) must comply with section 8 of the Code and be warranted, unless it is for entertainment purposes, in which case see 'Secret Filming for Entertainment Purposes' below.