The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its report into the Royal Prank Call scandal, finding that 2DayFM had breached its licence conditions by recording and broadcasting private conversations.
The release of the report is the latest legal development following the Southern Cross Austereo's (SCA) 2Day FM station's “Royal Prank Call” to the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for morning sickness in 2012.
In its report, ACMA found that 2DayFM breached clause 6.1 of the Commercial Radio Australia Codes of Practice and Guidelines 2011 which “prohibits the broadcast of statements by identifiable persons without their consent” and 9.1 which “prohibits participants in live-hosted entertainment programs from being treated in a highly demeaning or highly exploitative manner.”
It also found that it breached a licence condition in the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 which prohibits the use of a broadcasting service in the commission of an offence.
“The ACMA formed the opinion that the licensee had recorded and subsequently broadcast a private conversation without the consent of the parties to that conversation, which are offences under sections 7 and 11 of the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW),” the report said.
However, the report found that it did not breach several clauses related to decency and privacy obligations or the additional licence condition imposed on the station on 8 October 2012 following a breach of “accepted standards of decency” following comments about a female journalist during a broadcast of the Kyle and Jackie O Breakfast Show.
“This is a case where the licensee has breached an important community safeguard”’ said ACMA chairman, Chris Chapman. “The community rightly expects that broadcasters will not record and broadcast these sorts of private conversations when consent has not been given.”
ACMA noted it will now “move formally to consider what sanctions should apply”, which AdNews understands could include a suspension of its licence.
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