The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com · 53/92 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

LevelResult
Level 1 — Basic 30/37 (7 failed)
Level 2 — Enhanced 15/27 (12 failed)
Level 3 — Advanced 0/10 (9 failed)

By category

CategoryResult
Accessibility 10/13
Accountability 4/5
AI & Automation 3/8
Interoperability 2/3
Privacy 9/16
Provenance 2/2
Security 8/11
Transparency 7/13
Responsibility to the Future 0/3

Level 1 — Basic

Accessibility

AI & Automation

FAIL AI use policy in place
  • policy_exists: The About page contains no mention of an AI use policy or statement.
    Fix: Publish a clear AI use policy on the About page (or link to one) stating the Guardian's stance on AI in journalism.
  • scope_clear: Because no AI policy is present, there is no explanation of what AI is used for.
    Fix: Include a section describing specific AI use cases (e.g., research, transcription, content generation) so readers understand the scope.

Privacy

Security

Transparency

Level 2 — Enhanced

Accessibility

Accountability

AI & Automation

FAIL Published AI use policy (detailed)
  • detailed_scope: The page does not detail any scope of AI use as no AI policy content appears.
    Fix: Add a detailed breakdown of where and how AI tools are applied across editorial workflows.
  • limitations: No acknowledgement of AI limitations appears anywhere on the page.
    Fix: Explicitly acknowledge AI limitations such as hallucinations, bias, and accuracy concerns in the policy.
  • safeguards: The page does not describe any safeguards or quality controls related to AI.
    Fix: Describe editorial safeguards such as human review, disclosure labels, and accuracy checks applied to AI-assisted content.
FAIL AI-assisted content clearly marked
  • marking_policy: The About page contains no mention of any policy for labeling or marking AI-assisted content.
    Fix: Publish a clear policy on the About or Journalism page describing how AI-assisted content is disclosed and labeled to readers.
  • consistent: Without any stated AI marking policy on this page, there is no evidence of consistent application of AI content labeling.
    Fix: Document and link to standardized labeling conventions applied across all Guardian content where AI is used.
FAIL Human oversight of AI documented
  • oversight_exists: The page does not document any human oversight process for AI outputs.
    Fix: Add a section describing how editors and journalists supervise any use of AI tools in Guardian journalism.
  • review_process: No review or approval workflow for AI-generated content is described on the page.
    Fix: Describe the editorial review and approval steps AI-assisted content must pass before publication.
  • accountability: The page does not identify any individual or role accountable for AI-generated content.
    Fix: Name a responsible editor or team (e.g., the editor-in-chief or a designated AI editor) accountable for AI output and link to their remit.

Interoperability

Privacy

FAIL Data collection limited to necessity
  • necessity: The visible content does not contain an explicit statement that data collection is limited to what is necessary for the stated purposes.
    Fix: Add an explicit data minimisation statement affirming that the Guardian only collects personal data necessary for the specified purposes.
FAIL Published data retention periods
  • retention_stated: The visible portion of the policy does not include a section stating how long personal data is retained.
    Fix: Add a clearly labelled 'Data retention' section describing how long each category of personal data is kept.
  • specific: No specific retention time periods are stated on the visible page content.
    Fix: Specify concrete retention periods (e.g., 'account data retained for X years after account closure') for each data category.
FAIL No dark patterns in consent flows
  • equal_choices: The privacy policy page itself does not display a consent banner with visible accept and reject options for comparison of prominence.
    Fix: Ensure the consent banner presents 'Reject All' with equal visual weight (same size, color, and placement) as 'Accept All' and reference this standard within the privacy policy.
FAIL Advertising clearly labelled if present
  • ads_labelled: The About page contains no advertising or sponsored content and provides no labelling policy for ads.
    Fix: Add a statement or link explaining how advertising and sponsored content are labelled across Guardian properties.
  • disclosure: There is no disclosure on this page about relationships between editorial content and advertisers.
    Fix: Include a clear disclosure or link to an advertising policy explaining the separation and relationships between editorial and advertisers.
FAIL Cookie banner partner disclosure
  • banner_present: The page content shows no visible cookie or consent banner text in the provided content.
    Fix: Implement a visible cookie/consent banner on the homepage that appears on first visit to inform users about data collection.
  • partner_sharing_mentioned: There is no on-page consent copy disclosing data sharing with third-party partners in the provided content.
    Fix: Add explicit disclosure in the consent banner describing that user data may be shared with third-party advertising and analytics partners.
  • partner_count_specific: No specific numeric count of partners is stated anywhere in the page content.
    Fix: Include the exact number of third-party partners (e.g., 'We share data with X partners') in the consent banner with a link to the full partner list.

Provenance

Security

Transparency

FAIL Funding disclosed with detail
  • detail: The page mentions reader support categories (monthly, annual, one-time, subscriptions) but provides no amounts, percentages, or breakdown of how funding is distributed across sources.
    Fix: Add a breakdown showing what percentage of revenue comes from reader contributions versus advertising, subscriptions, and other sources.
  • complete: The disclosure only addresses reader support and omits other known major streams such as advertising revenue, the Scott Trust endowment, and philanthropic grants.
    Fix: Expand the disclosure to cover all major funding streams including advertising, Scott Trust investment income, and any philanthropic or institutional grants.
FAIL Governance structure disclosed
  • roles_clear: While the editor-in-chief Katharine Viner is named, the page does not clearly identify the responsibilities of other key roles within the governance entities or executive team.
    Fix: Add a section listing key leadership roles (e.g., trustees, board members, executives) with brief descriptions of their responsibilities within the governance structure.
FAIL Algorithm explanation if applicable
  • algorithm_explained: The About page does not mention any algorithms or explain their purpose in content selection, personalization, or decision-making.
    Fix: Add a section (or link to a dedicated page) describing any algorithms used by the Guardian (e.g., for content recommendation or ad targeting) and their purpose.
  • impact_clear: There is no description of how algorithmic decisions affect users, such as what content they see or how their data is processed.
    Fix: Include clear user-facing language explaining how algorithmic systems influence the reader experience and any resulting impacts on users.
FAIL Annual data practices statement
  • annual_statement: The page contains no evidence of an annual or periodic review of data practices.
    Fix: Publish a regularly reviewed data practices statement (e.g., annual privacy review) and link it from the About page.
  • dated: No data practices statement is shown, and nothing on the page is dated or versioned.
    Fix: Add a dated or versioned data practices statement (or link to one) so readers can see when it was last updated.

Level 3 — Advanced

Accessibility

FAIL Published accessibility statement
  • statement_exists: The page is a corporate 'About us' page describing ownership, funding and journalism, with no dedicated accessibility statement present.
    Fix: Create a dedicated accessibility statement page and link to it prominently, for example from the site footer and this About section.
  • known_issues: No accessibility content exists on the page, so there is no acknowledgement of any known accessibility issues or limitations.
    Fix: Add a section to the accessibility statement that lists known accessibility limitations and any non-conforming areas of the site.
  • remediation_timeline: The page contains no accessibility statement and therefore no timeline or commitment for fixing accessibility issues.
    Fix: Include target dates or a commitment schedule in the accessibility statement for remediating identified accessibility problems.
  • feedback_channel: While a general 'Contact us' link exists, there is no accessibility-specific feedback mechanism with a stated response commitment.
    Fix: Provide a dedicated accessibility feedback contact (email or form) along with a stated timeframe for responding to accessibility reports.

Accountability

FAIL Published moderation policies
  • policy_exists: The visible terms cover registration, content use, and liability but do not publish a moderation policy for user-submitted content.
    Fix: Publish a dedicated moderation/community standards policy (or link to one) within the terms explaining how user content is reviewed.
  • criteria_clear: No clear criteria are stated for what content is permitted, prohibited, or subject to removal under moderation.
    Fix: Add an explicit list of content standards (e.g., prohibited behaviors, hate speech, spam) that moderators apply when reviewing submissions.
  • enforcement: While the terms mention Guardian may cancel access at its sole discretion, they do not explain the moderation enforcement process, appeals, or review workflow.
    Fix: Document the enforcement workflow including how violations are detected, notifications given to users, and how users can appeal moderation decisions.

Interoperability

Security

FAIL Incident response plan published
  • plan_exists: The About page describes ownership, funding, and journalism but contains no published incident response plan or security policy.
    Fix: Publish a dedicated incident response plan or security policy page and link to it from the About or Contact section.
  • notification_commitment: The page makes no commitment to publicly notify affected users of significant security or data incidents.
    Fix: Add an explicit statement committing to notify affected users and the public in the event of a significant security incident.
  • timeframe: No disclosure timeframe for incidents is mentioned anywhere on the page.
    Fix: Specify a concrete disclosure timeframe (e.g., notifying affected users within 72 hours of discovering an incident).

Transparency

FAIL Algorithmic decision criteria published
  • criteria_published: The page contains no published criteria for any algorithmic decisions made by the Guardian.
    Fix: Publish a transparency page listing the specific inputs and criteria used by any ranking, recommendation, or moderation algorithms.
  • weighting: No weighting or prioritization information for algorithmic criteria is provided anywhere on the page.
    Fix: Disclose how different criteria are weighted or prioritized in algorithmic decisions, even at a high level.
  • auditable: The page provides no technical detail, documentation, or audit mechanism that would allow external review of any algorithms.
    Fix: Provide documentation, methodology, or an audit/contact process enabling independent review of algorithmic systems.
FAIL Open source code or tech docs
  • open_source: The about page does not link to any public source code repositories for Guardian's technical platforms.
    Fix: Add a link to the Guardian's open-source repositories (e.g., their GitHub organisation) from the about or work-with-us section.
  • tech_docs: No technical documentation is referenced or linked on the about page.
    Fix: Include a link to developer or technical documentation, such as an open platform, API docs, or engineering blog.

Responsibility to the Future

FAIL Environmental / sustainability disclosure
  • specific_metrics: The visible content references reports and blog narratives but shows no specific figures for carbon, energy use, or emissions.
    Fix: Publish concrete quantitative metrics such as annual carbon emissions (tCO2e), energy consumption (kWh), and year-over-year reduction targets on the sustainability page.
  • hosting_disclosure: There is no mention of the carbon or energy profile of the website's hosting or digital infrastructure anywhere on the page.
    Fix: Add a statement disclosing the hosting provider's energy sourcing (e.g., renewable-powered data centers) and the estimated carbon footprint of the site's digital infrastructure.
FAIL Succession and continuity plan
  • plan_exists: The page describes the Scott Trust's mission to secure independence 'in perpetuity' but contains no published plan for what happens if the organisation fails or exits.
    Fix: Publish an explicit continuity or wind-down plan describing what happens to the organisation and its journalism in the event of financial failure or exit.
  • data_and_content_fate: The page makes no mention of what would happen to user data or published content should the organisation cease to operate.
    Fix: Add a section detailing the fate of user data and the archive of published content in a shutdown scenario, including deletion, transfer, or preservation commitments.
  • custodians_or_mirrors: The page names the Scott Trust and Guardian Media Group as owners but does not identify any custodians, mirrors, or archive partners for preserving content if the organisation exits.
    Fix: Identify designated custodians, mirror sites, or archival partners (e.g., a library or web archive) responsible for preserving the content long-term.
FAIL Worker wellbeing policy
  • policy_exists: The page is a Guardian culture section listing arts, music, TV, and books articles with no published policy on worker wellbeing or working conditions.
    Fix: Publish a dedicated worker wellbeing or working conditions policy and link to it from the site.
  • specific_commitments: No specific commitments regarding pay, hours, mental health, or benefits appear anywhere on this culture content page.
    Fix: Add concrete, measurable commitments covering pay, working hours, mental health support, and benefits to the wellbeing policy.
  • accountability: The page contains no reference to any person, team, or body responsible for overseeing worker conditions.
    Fix: Name a responsible role or oversight body and describe how worker conditions are monitored and reported.