Jeremy Corbyn’s Bold Plan to Make the BBC More Competitive
Sir Jeremy Corbyn dropped a bombshell at the Edinburgh TV Festival: the BBC should get a fresh source of income by taxing tech titans like Facebook, Netflix, Google and Amazon. And that’s not all – he wants journalists to pick their own editors so the newsroom remains democratic.
Why the Ban on Brains and Bank Banners Matters
Corbyn says we’re living in a “fake‑news” era where the public trust in media is sliding faster than a toddler’s tumble. “The digital licence fee should sit on top of the existing one,” he argued, “and bring in money from those companies that have been siphoning huge wealth from our shared online space.” Hopeful? Perhaps. The plan would let the BBC flex a more diverse, grassroots approach needed to keep up with the corporate juggernauts.
How It Works (In Rough Draft Form)
- Tech giants would pay a part of their revenue calculated from traffic and user interaction within the UK.
- Those funds would feed into the BBC’s budget, giving it the resources to create more original content and broaden its audience reach.
- Journalists would get the final say on who edits their stories, safeguarding editorial freedom.
A Worldwide Signal?
France and Germany are already pushing the U.S. tech giants to pay more taxes in the EU. Corbyn’s proposal signals that the UK is ready to join the chorus, especially if the BBC can finally compete with Netflix’s binge‑watch style and Google’s endless ad streams.
If this gets any traction, we might finally see a BBC that’s no longer a “once‑in‑a‑generation” institution but a living, breathing media powerhouse—powered by tech fees and journalist democracy. That’s the dream, and it’s not as far-fetched as first thought.
