Operators' licensing

Ofcom has the power to license operators. The Broadcasting Act 1990 lays down a number of restrictions on who may hold Ofcom’s broadcasting licences, including restrictions on political or religious bodies. All programmes included in the licensed services and all advertising must comply with a number of general standards and specific advertising and sponsorship standards and comply with Ofcom’s Fairness and Standards Codes. Such standards include the requirement that persons under the age of 18 are protected, that no material likely to encourage or to incite the commission of crime or lead to disorder is included, that news is presented with due impartiality and reported with due accuracy and that adequate protection for members of the public from offensive and harmful material is provided. Licensees must also ensure that the inclusion of advertising which may be misleading, harmful or offensive is prevented. Ofcom has the ultimate sanction of withdrawing an operator’s licence if these or the other conditions are broken.

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