Ofcom has ordered broadcasters to give airtime to claims that biological men are women if and when they discuss trans issues on air. Bizarre, given that the Supreme Court just settled the issue…
A letter issued by the regulator to TV stations says that the matter cannot be considered closed, despite even Sir Keir Starmer taking action such as ordering hospitals to ban trans people from female toilets in the wake of the ruling by the highest court in the land. Does Ofcom think it outranks the Supreme Court?
Ofcom has taken a settled position on other controversies in the past – such as ruling that climate change is man-made. Its judgements effectively regularly draw the line on which discussions must be balanced by an opposing viewpoint and which need not be…The regulator’s response also hints that broadcasters should use preferred pronouns for guests. The regulatory blob makes an ass of the law…
UPDATE: Ofcom gets in touch to say they haven’t announced a new position on the issue, despite multiple media outlets reporting their letter to broadcasters. An Ofcom spokesperson said:
“Ofcom is a post-broadcast regulator. In line with the rights of broadcasters and audiences to freedom of expression, our rules allow broadcasters editorial freedom to choose how to cover issues in their programmes, subject to compliance with the Broadcasting Code.”
Lucy Powell told Sky News that the Ed Miliband-Russell Brand interview happened in part because the ‘social media age’ had not begun by 2015:
“Look, I mean, he approached the Labour Party, he approached the campaign team, and we’re in very different times now. We weren’t in the social media age at the time – where you could maybe search things up and see allegations about somebody at the time. and as I say, if there was any suggestion at all, we were dealing with someone who was a known sexual predator at the time, then, of course, you know, no one would have done that. But as I say, he was a well known public figure. Lots of people from Hollywood to the BBC to many others gave this person a very, very powerful platform. And we didn’t know at the time, unfortunately. It was a different era.”