BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk · 44/68 checks passed · media

Compliance report (framework 0.8)

Gate passed (every Core check must pass) · not counted towards the gate: paused 35, draft 48, ready for review 54.

Site level: 0 (no scored checks yet).

By level

Level	Result
Level 1 — Basic	32/37 (5 failed)
Level 2 — Enhanced	12/27 (15 failed)
Level 3 — Advanced	0/4 (4 failed)

By category

Category	Result
Accessibility	11/12
Accountability	2/5
AI & Automation	3/8
Interoperability	1/3
Privacy	12/16
Provenance	1/2
Security	8/9
Transparency	6/13

Level 1 — Basic

Accessibility

FAIL Proper heading hierarchy

Heading hierarchy issues: h1 -> h3 (skipped h2).

PASS WCAG 2.1 Level A automated testing

PASS Valid semantic HTML structure

PASS Keyboard navigability

PASS Skip navigation link present

PASS Text alternatives for images

PASS Decorative images properly marked

PASS Sufficient colour contrast

PASS No auto-playing media without controls

PASS Media elements have controls

AI & Automation

FAIL AI use policy in place

policy_exists: The About page contains no AI use policy or statement; it only describes BBC's broadcasting mission, governance, and services.
Fix: Publish a clear AI use policy or statement on the About section (or link to one) describing the BBC's approach to AI.
scope_clear: Because no AI policy is present, there is no explanation of what AI is used for on this page.
Fix: Add a section to the AI policy explicitly describing where and how AI is used (e.g., recommendations, content production, transcription).

FAIL Dedicated AI policy page exists

Not found at any of: /ai-policy, /ai.

PASS AI content disclosure in metadata

PASS robots.txt AI crawler rules

PASS No undisclosed AI-generated content

Privacy

PASS No third-party tracking scripts

PASS No third-party cookies

PASS No fingerprinting script patterns

PASS No behavioural or targeted advertising scripts

PASS First-party cookies functional only

PASS Session cookies only

PASS No hidden iframes or tracking beacons

PASS No tracking pixels

PASS Data-leaking third-party services

Security

FAIL HTTP to HTTPS redirect

Redirect chain (1 hops): https://www.bbc.co.uk

PASS HTTPS enforced

PASS Security headers present

PASS Content Security Policy header

PASS Referrer-Policy header

PASS No mixed content

PASS Valid TLS certificate

PASS TLS certificate not expiring soon

Transparency

FAIL Contact information present

actionable: The page lists topic categories (Help/FAQs, Complaints, Comments) but does not display any direct contact method such as a phone number, email address, postal address, or contact form on this page.
Fix: Add clearly visible actionable contact details (e.g., a phone number, email, postal address, or link to a contact form) directly on the contact page.

PASS Contact email present

PASS Contact form present

PASS Statement of purpose present

PASS Funding/sponsorship disclosure

Level 2 — Enhanced

Accessibility

PASS Mobile responsive design

PASS Form labels accessible

Accountability

FAIL Named responsible person

named_person: The page only refers generally to 'the BBC' and lists departments (Complaints, Help, Action Line) without identifying any named person or specific role holder responsible.
Fix: Add the name or job title of a specific individual or office holder (e.g., Head of Audience Services) responsible for handling contact enquiries.

FAIL Published response timeframes

response_timeframe: The page does not state any timeframe for when complainants can expect a response to their complaint.
Fix: Add a clear statement of expected response times (e.g., 'We aim to respond within 10 working days') on the complaints page.
specific: Since no response timeframes are published at all, no specific day-based timeframes are provided either.
Fix: Publish specific numeric timeframes in days (e.g., 'within 10 working days') rather than vague terms like 'promptly' or 'as soon as possible'.

PASS Documented complaints process

PASS Clear appeals process

AI & Automation

FAIL Published AI use policy (detailed)

detailed_scope: No AI policy appears on the page, so the scope of AI use is not detailed.
Fix: Include a detailed scope section in the AI policy listing specific AI systems, use cases, and editorial contexts.
limitations: The page does not acknowledge any limitations of AI systems since no AI content is present.
Fix: Add a 'Limitations' subsection to the AI policy describing known constraints, error rates, and failure modes of AI tools used.
safeguards: No safeguards or quality controls related to AI are mentioned anywhere on the page.
Fix: Document safeguards such as human-in-the-loop review, editorial oversight, bias testing, and accuracy checks within the AI policy.

FAIL AI-assisted content clearly marked

marking_policy: The About page contains no policy or statement regarding how AI-assisted content is marked or labelled.
Fix: Publish a clear policy on the About or Policies section describing how AI-assisted content is labelled and disclosed to audiences.
consistent: Without a visible marking policy on this page, there is no evidence that AI content marking is applied consistently.
Fix: Document and link to consistent labelling standards for AI-generated content across all BBC services from the About page.

FAIL Human oversight of AI documented

oversight_exists: The page describes general governance (Board, Executive Committee, Ofcom) but does not mention human oversight of AI outputs.
Fix: Add a section or link on the About page describing how humans oversee and validate AI-generated content before publication.
review_process: No review or approval workflow for AI outputs is described anywhere on this page.
Fix: Publish a description of the editorial review and approval process applied to AI-assisted outputs, and link to it from governance pages.
accountability: The page does not identify any role or individual accountable for AI-generated content, only general BBC governance roles.
Fix: Name a responsible role (e.g., an editorial AI lead or committee) accountable for AI-generated content and reference them in the governance section.

Interoperability

FAIL RSS/Atom feeds present

No RSS/Atom feeds discovered.

PASS Content in open formats

Privacy

FAIL Data collection limited to necessity

necessity: The visible landing page does not explicitly state that data collection is limited to what is necessary.
Fix: Add a clear statement on the privacy landing page affirming that the BBC only collects data necessary to provide its services.
proportionate: There is no statement on the visible page indicating that data collected is proportionate to the service provided.
Fix: Include a brief proportionality statement explaining that the scope of data collected is matched to the specific BBC services the user uses.

FAIL Published data retention periods

retention_stated: The page links to 'How long will you keep my information?' but the landing page itself does not state retention periods.
Fix: Surface a concise summary of data retention periods directly on the privacy landing page rather than only behind a link.
specific: No specific retention durations (e.g., months or years) are visible on the provided page content.
Fix: Provide specific retention timeframes (e.g., 'account data kept for X years after closure') on the privacy overview page.

FAIL No dark patterns in consent flows

equal_choices: The page shows no visible accept/reject controls for consent, so equal prominence of choices cannot be verified on this privacy overview page.
Fix: Surface the cookie/consent banner controls on this page (or link directly to 'Cookie and Browser Settings') with Accept and Reject buttons of equal size, color, and prominence.

FAIL Cookie banner partner disclosure

partner_sharing_mentioned: The banner copy only mentions strictly necessary and additional cookies, with no disclosure of data sharing with third-party partners.
Fix: Update the banner copy to explicitly state whether data is shared with third-party advertising or analytics partners and link to a partners list.
partner_count_specific: No numeric count of partners is stated anywhere in the visible banner or consent copy.
Fix: Include a specific partner count (e.g., 'We share data with X partners') in the banner with a link to the full vendor list.

PASS Human-readable privacy policy

PASS Plain language data practices

PASS Advertising clearly labelled if present

Provenance

FAIL Basic authorship metadata

No author or date metadata found on the page.

PASS Authorship metadata assessment

Security

PASS security.txt published

Transparency

FAIL Named responsible person in contact

named_person: No named individual or specific team is identified for enquiries—only generic categories like 'Contact the BBC' and 'Help and FAQs' are listed.
Fix: Identify the responsible team (e.g., 'BBC Audience Services') or named contact person for enquiries directly on the contact page.
role_clear: Because no person or team is named, their role and authority for handling enquiries is also not stated.
Fix: Once a team/person is named, clearly state their role and remit (e.g., 'BBC Audience Services handles all viewer and listener enquiries and complaints').

FAIL Funding disclosed with detail

detail: The page names funding categories (licence fee, commercial operations) but provides no amounts, percentages, or quantitative breakdown of the funding mix.
Fix: Add figures or percentages showing how much revenue comes from the licence fee versus commercial operations, or summarise key numbers from the annual report directly on this page.
complete: The disclosure mentions the licence fee and commercial operations but omits other known streams such as government grants (e.g., World Service funding) and any commercial/partnership revenue detail.
Fix: Expand the disclosure to enumerate all major funding streams, including any government grant-in-aid for the World Service and other income sources listed in the annual accounts.

FAIL Algorithm explanation if applicable

algorithm_explained: The About page describes the BBC's services and governance but makes no mention of any algorithms or their purpose.
Fix: Add a section (or link to one) explaining where algorithms are used—e.g., content recommendations on iPlayer/Sounds—and their intended purpose.
impact_clear: There is no description of how algorithmic decisions affect users, such as personalised recommendations or content ranking.
Fix: Include a clear statement of how algorithmic outputs influence what users see or experience, with examples and user-facing implications.

FAIL Annual data practices statement

annual_statement: The page references an annual report and annual plan but contains no evidence of a regular or periodic review of data/privacy practices specifically.
Fix: Add a statement on the About page (or link to the Privacy Policy) confirming that data practices are reviewed on a defined periodic basis (e.g., annually).
dated: The page links to a Privacy Policy but shows no visible date, version, or 'last updated' indicator for any data practices statement on this page.
Fix: Include a 'last updated' date or version number alongside the Privacy Policy link and on the policy itself so users can verify currency.

PASS Substantive statement of purpose

PASS Governance structure disclosed

Level 3 — Advanced

Accountability

FAIL Published moderation policies

criteria_clear: The page only links to explainers but does not display specific moderation criteria or standards on this Terms of Use summary page.
Fix: Include a concise summary of moderation criteria (e.g., prohibited content types, community standards) directly on the terms page or in a clearly labeled section.
enforcement: The page references a 'Help with moderation' link but does not explain the enforcement process, consequences, or appeals procedure for violations.
Fix: Add an explicit enforcement section describing how violations are detected, what actions are taken (warnings, removal, bans), and how users can appeal moderation decisions.

Interoperability

FAIL Published uptime/status page

Not found at: /status

Transparency

FAIL Algorithmic decision criteria published

criteria_published: The page does not publish any specific criteria used in algorithmic decision-making.
Fix: Publish the input signals and decision criteria (e.g., viewing history, popularity, editorial boosts) used by BBC recommendation or ranking systems.
weighting: No information is given about the relative weighting or priority of any algorithmic criteria.
Fix: Describe how different factors are weighted or prioritised in algorithmic outputs, even at a high level, so users understand what drives decisions.
auditable: The page provides no technical or procedural detail sufficient to allow external audit or review of algorithms.
Fix: Provide an algorithmic transparency report or link to documentation detailing models, data, governance, and audit mechanisms available to external reviewers.

FAIL Open source code or tech docs

open_source: The about page contains no links to source code repositories or open source projects from the BBC.
Fix: Add a link to BBC's GitHub organisation or open source projects page (e.g., bbc.github.io) from the About section.
tech_docs: No technical documentation or developer resources are linked from this about page.
Fix: Include a link to BBC's developer/technical documentation (such as the BBC R&D site or developer portal) within the About navigation.