The BBC has launched its review of social media guidelines, which former ITN CEO John Hardie is set to oversee, in the wake of the Gary Lineker scandal.
The review, announced by BBC director-general Tim Davie earlier this month, will begin immediately and conclude over the summer.
Hardie, a former CEO and Editor-in-Chief of the ITV News and Channel 4 News operator, will investigate:
- Which freelancers are covered by the guidelines?
- What impartiality requirements, if any, should apply to freelancers? If so, how are these to be defined?
- Do all freelancers have the same requirements?
The review was ordered after the Lineker fallout, in which the game of the day The host was benched after a tweet comparing the language surrounding the government’s asylum policy to that of 1930 Germany.
“The BBC has important commitments to both impartiality and freedom of expression,” said Davie. “We also have an obligation to those who work with us, and for us, to be clear about what we expect of them. Social media guidance is critical to achieving this, especially in a fast-paced, ever-changing digital media world.”