CASE NUMBER: 17/2008 – H VS SABC RADIO 5FM – PRIVACY

The core question in this case is whether the privacy of a listener is invaded upon when he or she is phoned by a broadcaster and the conversation is recorded and only Broadcast at a later stage in such a manner that the persons involved are not identifiable by listeners, the identifiable feature having been bleeped out or erased. The Tribunal held that the Broadcasting Code only deals with complaints which are   based on what has been broadcast. From the broadcast itself, it was impossible to establish who was involved. The complainant has not based his complaint on evidence that he had been identified, e.g. by friends.  The complaint was not upheld.