Can I share things from the BBC?
Page updated: 26 September 2016
Yes, but there are a few rules (see below).
Things you can share, AKA “shareables” normally have one or more of these buttons next to them:
- Share
- Embed
- RSS Feeds
Rules about sharing BBC content
Please stick to them. Otherwise the people who make content for us won’t want to again.
Things you can do
Use sharing buttons
Some pages on the BBC have a button that lets you “Share” a link to that page. It’s a great way of telling your friends about something interesting. Click the Share button and you’ll see a list of services such as Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.
We’ve chosen the ones that are most popular with people who use the BBC. On some BBC pages, Facebook and Twitter are more prominent as they’re the most popular. All the sharing services we link to can be used for free.
When you share to a social media platform their terms will apply. Do read their terms (which you can search for online).
Embed our player on your website or social media
Just don’t:
- Change how the player works
- Take content out of it
- Embed any content that doesn’t have an embed button.
Add the BBC News feed to your website or social media
Provided you:
- Don’t change the feed or remove any of our branding or logos
- Credit us by saying it’s from BBC News, bbc.co.uk/news or bbc.com/news
- Don’t add our branding, except for any that’s already embedded in the feed.
Post comments and views about our shareables
Just as long as they’re not evil.
Things you can't do
Don’t use shareables for harmful or offensive purposes
Here are some things that may harm or offend:
- Insulting, misleading, discriminating or defaming people
- Promoting pornography, tobacco or weapons
- Putting children at risk
- Anything illegal. Like using hate speech, inciting terrorism or breaking privacy law
- Anything that would harm the BBC’s reputation.
Don’t make shareables look like they cost money
You can't charge others for using our shareables. If you put them on a site that charges, say they’re free-to-view.
Don’t make them more prominent than non-BBC content
Otherwise it might look like we’re endorsing you. And don’t make a service of your own that contains only our shareables.
Don’t exaggerate your relationship with the BBC
Don’t say we endorse, promote, supply or approve of you. Don’t use shareables for political purposes. And don’t say you have exclusive access to our content.
Don’t associate BBC content with advertising or sponsorship
That means you can’t:
- Put any other content between the link to the shareable and the shareable itself. So no ads or short videos people have to sit through
- Put ads next to or over them
- Put any ads in a web page or app that contain mostly shareables
- Put ads related to their subject alongside shareables. So no trainer ads with a shareable about shoes
- Add extra content that means you’d earn money from them.
Don’t be misleading about where they came from
Don’t remove or alter the copyright notice, or imply that someone else made them.
Things you must do
Use the latest version. Don’t remove any embedded tagging or tracking. And make sure the content is displayed accurately.
Add one of these credits (if it doesn’t already have one):
- Source – BBC News
- bbc.com/news
- BBC Sport
- bbc.co.uk – © copyright [the year goes here] BBC
If possible, add a hyperlink to the shareable’s original location. Make sure it works, and don’t put anything between the credit and the link.