A figurative clock face displayed by BBC Online has been branded ‘inaccurate and misleading’ by the BBC Trust after the body agreed with a complaint that it merely reproduced the time on the user’s computer.
Upholding the browsers complaint the Trust affirmed that displaying a clock which derived its time in this manner was not consistent with guidelines on accuracy and should be replaced.
Commenting in the episode a BBC spokeswoman said that the offending timepiece would be replaced during an ‘upcoming update’.
The spokesperson continued: “Given the technical complexities of implementing an alternative central clock, and the fact that most users already have a clock on their computer screen, the BBC has taken the decision to remove the clock from the Homepage in an upcoming update."
The managing editor of BBC Online said that the decision not to offer an independently ticking clock was made on the grounds that such a system would significantly slow operation of the site and it would be impossible to offer a single ‘zonally-accurate clcok’ for international users.