BBC Reserves the Right to Report Commenters to Their Employer for Offensive Content

Users have noted that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC News) has reserved the right in their Privacy and Cookies Policy to contact the employers of commenters who post offensive content on their website.

Twitter user Frank Fisher posted a tweet yesterday which included a screenshot of a particular section of the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy which reads, “If you post or send offensive, inappropriate or objectionable content anywhere on or to BBC websites or otherwise engage in any disruptive behaviour on any BBC service, the BBC may use your personal information to stop such behaviour.”

The section of the policy goes on to clarify exactly how the BBC would “stop such behaviour,” saying, “Where the BBC reasonably believes that you are or may be in breach of any applicable laws (e.g. because content you have posted may be defamatory), the BBC may use your personal information to inform relevant third parties such as your employer, school email/internet provider or law enforcement agencies about the content and your behaviour.”

Fisher’s tweet can be seen below,

https://twitter.com/frank_fisher/status/864915356644724736

The BBC comments section already has a set of “house rules” that users are expected to follow or face deletion of their comments. “We’ve established these House Rules to protect you and the BBC from legal and editorial risks.” the website states, “These are intended as a guide to how you should behave and post on bbc.co.uk. Breach of the BBC terms of use will result in the removal of your comments. Repeated breaches will result in the restriction of your BBC ID.”

It continues to say, “The BBC welcomes feedback, both positive and negative, about our programmes and services but please make sure your comments are in line with the House Rules. Repeatedly posting personal or offensive comments about individual members of the public or people who work for the BBC may be considered harassment. We reserve the right to remove such comments and take action against those responsible.”

The details within the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies policy relating to contacting authorities or a commenter’s employer are however not outlined in the house rules.