Printiwch y rhan hon yn Gymraeg
The BBC’s archives are a great national record. The archives include content that was broadcast or published in the past, which we may wish to re-use (either in full or in part) and also content that, from the outset, has been continuously accessible. They are an important, useful and valuable resource and we should make them available where possible.
This section outlines the additional steps that should be taken when content is re-used or reversioned whether by the BBC or a third party. The section also addresses how to manage the archive of BBC’s online content which in most cases is published with the expectation that it will be made permanently [1] available.
Content within the archives is made to BBC editorial standards in effect at the time of its original production and, with the passage of time, those standards may change. When re-using content we must take account of the Editorial Guidelines in effect now.
We have a continuing responsibility to respect privacy and to be fair to contributors.
The integrity of the archive means we should only remove or amend online, including on-demand, content in exceptional circumstances. Where we let others use our archive content, we must ensure that they do so in ways that do not compromise the BBC’s impartiality, editorial integrity and independence.
[1]The sections of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code that relate to this are 2: Harm and Offence, 5: Due Impartiality and Due Accuracy and Undue Prominence of Views and Opinions, 7: Fairness and 8: Privacy.