Anyone who appears in a story, from a household name to a bystander, has routes for challenging how they were covered. This article explains which UK body deals with which kind of complaint, and the order in which the routes are usually approached.
Why there is no single complaints desk
Many readers assume there is one authority that “regulates the media”. There is not. Print and online journalism, broadcasting and advertising are overseen by different bodies, and data protection law sits alongside all of them. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) puts it plainly in its public guidance: media organisations are able to process personal data when producing journalistic content where there is a public interest, the law includes specific rules that help balance the right to privacy with freedom of expression, and media organisations must still comply with data protection law. It adds that most are subject to industry rules and codes of practice, and that several bodies regulate them.
The practical consequence is that the first question is not “what did they get wrong?” but “who published it, and in what form?” A magazine feature, a radio interview and a social media advert for a fragrance can each be wrong in the same way and still go to three different places.
Which route fits which kind of coverage?
The ICO’s guidance sets out separate complaint routes for the main regulators. The table below summarises the ones this article covers.
| Type of content | Usual body | Basis for the complaint |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers and magazines that are IPSO members | IPSO | Breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice |
| Publications that are IMPRESS members | IMPRESS | Breach of the IMPRESS Standards Code |
| Television, radio and some on-demand services | Ofcom | Fairness or privacy concerns about broadcast content |
| Broadcast advertising | Advertising Standards Authority | Advertising rules |
| Personal data handled by a media organisation | ICO, and sometimes the courts | Data protection law |
The ICO also lists routes for organisations that belong to neither IPSO nor IMPRESS, for taking a case to court and claiming compensation, and for asking someone to act on your behalf. Those are outside the scope of this guide, but they are a reminder that not every publisher is covered by a press regulator.
How does a complaint to IPSO work?
The Independent Press Standards Organisation oversees compliance with the Editors’ Code of Practice. According to the ICO’s summary, you can complain to IPSO if the publisher is an IPSO member and you believe it has breached the Code, or published an article that does. You can use IPSO’s online complaints form, email IPSO, or write to the organisation at 10-12 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1AJ. Which publishers are covered is listed on IPSO’s “Who IPSO regulates” page.
The Code is the yardstick. Our explainer on what the UK press code says about privacy and public figures sets out how its privacy and harassment clauses are framed, including the idea of a reasonable expectation of privacy and the distinction between what is interesting and what is in the public interest. A complaint that names the specific clause it relies on is easier to assess than a general sense that a piece was unfair.
The ICO page on IPSO does not describe deadlines or remedies, and this article does not either. Time limits and the outcomes available are set by IPSO itself, so check its current procedure before relying on any assumption about how long you have.
How does a complaint to IMPRESS work?
IMPRESS, the Independent Monitor for the Press, is a separate regulator with its own code. According to the ICO, it has more than 125 member publications, it is the only press regulator approved as compliant with the Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press by the Press Recognition Panel, and its Standards Code sets out rules that member publishers have contractually agreed to follow.
The sequence differs from IPSO’s as the ICO describes it:
- Raise the concern with the publisher first. Contact the publisher directly.
- Escalate if it is not resolved. If the publisher has not resolved the complaint within 21 days, or you are not satisfied with its response, you can take it to IMPRESS.
- Submit the complaint. The routes the ICO lists are IMPRESS’s website complaints page, a telephone call to 020 3325 4288, an email to [email protected], or a letter to IMPRESS at 16-18 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V 6AG.
The eligibility test is the same in outline as for IPSO: the publisher must be an IMPRESS member, and the complainant must believe it acted in a way, or published an article, that breaches the IMPRESS Standards Code.
What about television, radio and on-demand?
Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code covers broadcast content, not written news or news websites. For complaints about fairness or privacy in programmes from broadcasters other than the BBC, the ICO lists these ways to reach Ofcom:
- online, through the TV, radio and on-demand complaint page on Ofcom’s website;
- by telephone on 0300 123 3333 or 020 7981 3040;
- by textphone on 18001 01925 650744, or through Ofcom’s video relay service for British Sign Language users;
- by post to “Ofcom Fairness and Privacy Complaints”, Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA.
For the BBC’s television, radio and iPlayer output, a person can complain directly to Ofcom about fairness or privacy using the same contact details, although Ofcom recommends first raising the matter with the BBC to try to resolve it. The ICO adds a point that is easy to miss: if the concern is about privacy and the complainant also wants to complain to the ICO, the privacy concern must be raised with the BBC directly.
Where do advertising and sponsored posts fit?
Some of the coverage that readers object to is not journalism at all. A sponsored post, a paid partnership or a broadcast advertisement is governed by advertising rules rather than press codes. The ICO’s Ofcom guidance notes that complaints about broadcast adverts go to the Advertising Standards Authority, and the same logic applies when a famous face fronts a campaign. The site’s guide to how the UK advertising rules treat celebrity endorsement covers what must be disclosed and who enforces it. Knowing whether something is editorial or advertising settles which door to knock on.
Is a complaint the same as a data protection claim?
No. A complaint to a press regulator asks whether a code was breached. Data protection law asks a different question: whether personal information was handled lawfully, with the journalism rules balancing privacy against freedom of expression. The ICO’s guidance treats the two as separate strands and lists them as separate routes, and it also lists the option of taking a case to court and claiming compensation. Which of these suits a given situation is a matter on which a person may want specialist advice, particularly where there is a possibility of legal action.
The ICO also notes on each of these pages that its guidance is under review and may change because of the Data (Use and Access) Act. Anyone relying on the detail should check the current version rather than a summary, including this one.
A sensible order of steps
Putting the sources together, a reasonable sequence for most complaints is:
- Identify the medium. Print or online article, broadcast programme, or advertisement.
- Check the publisher’s membership. For press, see whether it is covered by IPSO or IMPRESS. If neither, the ICO’s separate guidance on non-members applies.
- Write to the publisher. For IMPRESS members this is a formal first step with a 21-day window; for others it is still usually the quickest way to get an error corrected.
- Name the rule. Refer to the clause of the Editors’ Code, the IMPRESS Standards Code or the Broadcasting Code that you think was breached.
- Escalate to the regulator if the publisher does not resolve it or the response is unsatisfactory.
- Keep the data protection route in mind where personal information is the heart of the problem.
Understanding this ordering also helps readers judge public arguments about coverage. When a headline says a story has been “reported to the regulator”, the useful follow-up questions are which regulator, under which code and at which stage.
Why knowing the route matters more than the grievance
Complaints systems tend to reward precision. A person who knows that a magazine belongs to one regulator and a broadcaster to another, and who can cite the relevant code, gives the receiving body something it can act on. The bodies described here differ in membership, codes and process, but they share a common premise: that coverage of real people carries responsibilities, whether the subject is a public figure or a private individual caught up in a story. Reading a profile with that in mind, alongside how to read a celebrity profile, is a good habit for anyone who consumes entertainment news.
This article is general information based on published guidance and is not legal advice. Procedures, addresses and contact details change; check the relevant body’s current guidance before making a complaint.
Sources: ICO (Data protection and journalism); ICO (Complaining to the Independent Monitor for the Press (IMPRESS)); ICO (Complaining to IPSO); ICO (Complaining to Ofcom)
