Regulatory services / Advisory notices
About advisory notices

About Advisory Notices

An Advisory Notice may be:

  • a request to refrain from contacting the family of an individual involved in a traumatic event in order to avoid the risk of exacerbating their grief or distress
  • a request to refrain from using images on social media of an individual involved in a traumatic incident without the knowledge or consent of their family. To do so may risk exacerbating the family’s grief or distress
  • a reminder for publishers of their obligations under the Code and other legislation with respect to a sensitive issue of international significance (e.g. images of prisoners of war, or reporting on terrorist activity)
  • a reminder to respect certain legal reporting requirements or restrictions in place

Impress will circulate the request it has received to publishers, describe the subject matter concerned, and indicate whether it is private and confidential (i.e. not for publication).

Advisory notices do not prevent publishers from publishing certain information, or from contacting individuals who have requested privacy for example. However, publishers will be reminded of their obligations under the Standards Code, and that failure to respect an advisory notice may be taken into account should a subsequent Impress investigation arise.

Request an advisory notice