Freedom Of Information Act: Public Service Broadcasting

The High Court, in its first judgement on the Freedom of Information Act 2000("FOIA"), has considered a fundamental jurisdictional issue in addition to widening the scope of what information falls within the ambit of "journalism", to which the Act does not apply, giving public service broadcasters greater rights to keep information from being released.

In an action by Steven Sugar, the BBC succeeded in its appeal against the Information Tribunal’s decision that the BBC ought to have provided Sugar with the information he requested on a report regarding news coverage of the Middle East.

The FOIA requires public authorities to disclose information it holds if requested to do so by a member of the public. The BBC is deemed to be a "public authority" for the purposes of the FOIA other than "in respect of information held for purposes other than those of journalism, art or literature".