Privacy editorial principles
The BBC seeks to:
- balance the public interest in freedom of expression with the legitimate expectation of privacy by individuals.
- balance the public interest in the full and accurate reporting of stories involving human suffering and distress with an individual's privacy and respect for their human dignity.
- justify intrusions into an individual's private life without consent by demonstrating a clear public interest.
- normally only report the private legal behaviour of public figures where broader public issues are raised either by the behaviour itself or by the consequences of its becoming widely known. The fact of publication by other media may not justify the BBC reporting it.