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Regulation

Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It regulates the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.They ensure that people in the UK are getting the very best from their communications services. They operate under a number of Acts of Parliament, including the communications act 2003. 'The Communications Act says that Ofcom’s principal duty is to further the interests of citizens and of consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition'. Ofcom is funded by the fees from industry for regulating broadcasting and communications networks, and grant-in-aid from the Government.
Ofcoms main duties are: 
  • the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
  • a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
  • television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
  • people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
  • people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded;
  • viewers of video on demand services are protected from harmful content;
  • a universal postal service is provided in the UK - this means a six days a week, universally priced delivery and collection service across the country; and
  • the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.
Ofcom was created and announced in June 2001 during the Queen's speech to the UK parliament. There had before been several existing authorities: the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the Independent television commission, Oftel, the Radio Authority and the Radio communications Agency. However these were failing and so a new super regulator called Ofcom was created to oversee all the media channels. Ofcom was officially launched on the 29th December 2003. Ofcom deals with most content on television, radio and video on demand services. Ofcom also regulates BBC content (except the BBC World Service). Most television institutions in the UK have to abide by Ofcom's rules and regulations. Ofcom only regulates the UK, other countries have their own regulatory body. 
The list of Ofcoms rules and regulations is here:

If Ofcoms rules and regulations are broken these are the penalty guidelines: 

Recently in June 2018 The BBC was fined £400,000 by Ofcom for faking competition winners and deceiving viewers on a string of radio and flagship television programmes. Ofcom gave the biggest fine the corporation had ever given out, in relation to eight phone-in competitions on TV shows such as Comic Relief, Sport Relief and Children in Need. Ofcom found that viewers were duped by production staff who made up the names of winners or even posed as contestants themselves. Its investigation also found that in some cases production teams encouraged listeners to enter competitions even though they had no chance of winning. The regulator said: "Ofcom considered that these breaches of the (broadcasting) code were very serious. In each of these cases the BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly.
"Overall, Ofcom found that the BBC failed to have adequate management oversight of its compliance and training procedures to ensure that the audiences were not misled." 

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