Broadcasters must air views that trans women are women, says Ofcom

Telegraph

a day ago

Broadcasters must give airtime to claims that biological men are women when covering trans issues, Ofcom has said.
The media regulator warned GB News in a letter seen by The Telegraph that it could not treat the controversy as settled, despite the landmark Supreme Court victory for women's rights campaigners in April 2025.
The Supreme Court ruled that under the Equality Act, the word 'woman' means a biological woman rather than a person's self-identified gender.
As a result, women-only spaces have a legal right to be protected. However, Ofcom has said that the judges' ruling does not mean the matter is 'settled'.
In the past, the regulator has said that it considers it 'settled' that climate change is real and a man-made phenomenon.
Therefore, in situations discussing climate change, broadcasters do not have to provide an opposing view such as a climate change sceptic.
GB News wrote to Ofcom asking it to confirm that the ruling had settled the matter of the definition of a woman by saying it was defined by biological sex and not gender identity.
The station also asked the regulator to confirm that television companies would be able to refer to people such as sports stars solely by their biological pronoun.
But Ofcom said the Supreme Court only ruled on the definition of a woman in terms of the Equality Act and not on its meaning in other contexts.
Believe sex can change
The decision suggests broadcasters will continue to have to present both sides of the debate: those who believe there are only two sexes and those who believe a person's gender identity can change their actual sex.
Ofcom's response also suggests that broadcasters should use a person's preferred pronoun.
In its letter, GB News wrote: 'We would be grateful if Ofcom could confirm that in light of the Supreme Court judgment, it is now a settled matter that the terms 'man', 'woman' and 'sex' can only be understood to mean biological sex, biological woman and biological man and, as a consequence, it is also a settled matter that a 'trans woman' is not a biological female, and a 'trans man' is not a biological male.'
It added: 'Following the Supreme Court judgment we are of the view that (provided there is no deliberate intention to cause harm or offence), contributors should generally be able to use biological pronouns.'
In its reply, Ofcom said that it could not agree with the broadcaster's 'dogmatic' pronouncements.
It said it did not follow the premise that assumes 'the judgment should also be understood to have effectively 'settled' wider debate about the appropriate meaning, usage and effect of such terms in all contexts outside the scope of the Equality Act, including in broadcast programmes in which issues relating to sex and gender-based rights are discussed generally'.
It added: 'The judgment does not purport to do so.'
Requires nuanced decision-making
The letter went on to say that Ofcom 'does not consider that it is helpful or appropriate to endorse the dogmatic propositions' made by GB News, adding that it worked on a case-by-case basis because such issues 'require nuanced decision-making'.
'Our assessment will of course also take account of all applicable Convention rights, including the broadcaster's and audience's rights to freedom of expression, as well as the latitude for editorial discretion which uncontroversially accompanies the exercise of those rights on issues of significant public interest.'
A spokesman for the regulator 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 the Broadcasting Code.
'Our assessment of whether content complies with the Broadcasting Code is always fact-specific and takes into account all relevant contextual factors, requiring nuanced decision-making, and not a 'one size fits all' approach.'