BBC chief proposes ‘public service algorithm’ with YouTube-style user-generated content

Speaking at Edinburgh TV festival, Matt Brittin says BBC platform would be free from interests of US tech giants The BBC director general has suggested opening up the BBC to YouTube-style user-generated content as he backed the idea of a “public service algorithm” free from the interests of US tech companies. Matt Brittin, who arrived at the BBC after 10 years leading Google in Europe, said the corporation and public service media in Britain had the opportunity to build a platform “unadulterated by commercial interests, by algorithms that have other interests at heart”. Speaking at the Edinburgh TV festival, he said concerns about the influence and impact of social media algorithms were now the “most interesting public debate” in the US. Meta agreed on Wednesday to pay out $18bn (£13.2bn) and make big changes to its platforms after claims of addicting and harming children with dangerous products. While stating it was not BBC policy, Brittin raised the idea of turning an “iPlayer 2.0” into a YouTube-style site hosting appropriate content from creators. It would be built around an algorithm aimed at “educating, informing and entertaining the public here and ideally