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Outlook: Privacy notice

Your trust is very important to us. This means the BBC is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. It is important that you read this notice so that you are aware of how and why we are using such information. This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal data about you during and after your relationship with us, in accordance with data protection law.

Why are we doing this and how can you participate?

We would love to hear your thoughts, comments and feedback about BBC World Service Outlook to make sure that we are providing content to you that you enjoy most. We may also invite you to be on the programme to discuss your submission, should you wish to. This privacy notice covers when the BBC World Service Outlook website invites you to send in your comments, opinions and stories via email, WhatsApp and social media.

We will publish select comments we receive on the live and recorded programmes, and may use these comments in news articles. Occasionally we may get in touch to ask you for more information, or even to see if you’d be interested in discussing it on radio or on one of our podcasts. Someone from our production team will email you and have at least one conversation with you before any interview is recorded. This gives us a chance to find out more about your opinions and experiences, as well as confirming how you want to be introduced on air. It also gives you a chance to ask any questions that you may have ahead of taking part.

When sending in your contribution, we ask that you should at no time put yourself in danger or endanger others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. We also ask that if your story is a personal one you DO NOT send us any sensitive information about yourself using WhatsApp. Someone from our production team will reach out to you separately to collect this information, either over email or over the phone.

When you contribute to the BBC, we may use your contribution in our programmes or content, but we cannot promise to use everything that we receive. If we broadcast your contribution or invite you to appear on a BBC broadcast, this may include the programme being available online and/or on demand, and your contribution may be used again in a future broadcast. It may also include use on the BBC’s social media channels.

For information in relation to how the BBC will process your personal data where you are providing contributions to our programmes, please see our Privacy Notice for Contributors.

What will BBC collect and how will we use it?

The BBC will collect and process the personal data that you have provided to us about yourself. There are two types of information we may collect: personal data and special category data. Special category data is still personal data, but its processing by the BBC requires the BBC to follow additional compliance steps.

You must be 18 years or older to submit your comments to World Service Outlook. The BBC will collect and process the following personal data about you:

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your phone number
  • Your location, if you choose to provide it
  • How you listen to World Service, if you choose to tell us
  • Your comments and opinions

If you contact us via WhatsApp then we may read out your comment on air. If you do not want your name, location of comment made public, please tell us and we will respect your wishes.

It is possible the BBC will also collect and process special category data depending on the content of your submission. This might include for example:

  • Gender
  • Health related data
  • Sexual orientation
  • Race or ethnicity data
  • Religious or philosophical beliefs

We ask that you do not send in personal data about your friends and family.

Who is the Data Controller?

The BBC is the “data controller” of your personal data. This means that the BBC decides what your personal data is used for, and the ways in which it is processed. For the avoidance of doubt, your personal data will be collected and processed solely for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. As the data controller, the BBC has the responsibility to comply, and to demonstrate compliance with, data protection law.

Contributions and communications sent to the BBC through other third-party social media services; third-party messaging services; or email are also subject to the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the service you choose to use. You should refer to their privacy policies for how they process your data and their individual retention policies.

If you contact us via WhatsApp, you will also be subject to WhatsApp’s Terms of Use. If you live in the UK, please see: Terms of Service - UK (whatsapp.com). If you live in the European Region, please see: Terms of Service (whatsapp.com). If you live outside of the European Region and the UK, please see: Terms of Service (whatsapp.com). Please be aware that WhatsApp may share your data within the Meta Group for a number of different purposes, including for direct marketing purposes.

Lawful basis for processing your personal data

The legal basis on which the BBC processes your personal data is the performance of its public task. The BBC’s role is to act in the public interest and to serve all audiences with content which informs, educates and entertains, and increases audience interaction and participation with our journalistic, artistic and literary material.

If you live in the UK or EEA, the BBC processes your special category data (if applicable) on the lawful basis that processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. These reasons are for the purposes of journalism, art and literature. As outlined in the BBC’s Royal Charter, the public purposes of the BBC is:

“To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services: the BBC should provide high-quality output in many different genres and across a range of services and platforms which sets the standard in the United Kingdom and internationally. Its services should be distinctive from those provided elsewhere and should take creative risks, even if not all succeed, in order to develop fresh approaches and innovative content.”

If you live outside of the UK and EEA, the BBC processes your special category data (if applicable) with your explicit consent. Providing a contribution to one of our radio programmes or podcasts is entirely optional. You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing [email protected].

Sharing your data

The BBC works with our approved third-party providers who help us to provide some of our services. These partners only use your personal data on behalf of the BBC and not independently of the BBC. We currently use a third-party data storage provider to store your data collected through the uploader form.

We may also share your personal data with a third party where required or permissible by law.

Retaining your data

We hope to use your submission in one of our World Service Outlook broadcasts, but we can’t guarantee it.

We will keep your personal data for up to one (1) year for phone calls and emails; six (6) months for WhatsApp messages; ninety (90) days for social media messages and two (2) years for text messages. If your submission is used for broadcast, it will be retained and archived in perpetuity by the BBC.

Your personal data will be stored within the UK and EEA.

If your data is processed outside the UK and the EEA and the BBC is processing this data as a data controller, we will ensure that it is protected to the same standards as if it were being processed within the UK and EEA.

Your rights and more information

You have rights under data protection law:

  • You can request a copy of the personal data BBC stores about you.
  • You have the right to request that we rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.
  • You have the right to ask for the personal data we collect about you to be deleted, however there are limitations and exceptions to this right which may entitle the BBC to refuse your request.
  • In certain circumstances, you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data or to object to the processing of your personal data.
  • You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal data to you or to another organisation, in certain circumstances.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer if you have questions or you wish to find out more details about your rights. Please visit the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy.

If you have a concern about the way the BBC has handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the supervisory authority in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), or the supervisory authority in your country. Please contact our Data Protection Officer if you need help with identifying the appropriate body.

Updating this privacy notice

We will revise the privacy notice if there are significant changes to how we use your personal data.