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Comment by andyjohnson0 | Hacker News Reader

> The BBC is funded by the taxpayer, who rightfully expect impartiality from their presenters.

This BBC is not funded by taxation. It's funded by a subscription paid by owners of TV reception equipment. Some people who pay the licence fee also pay taxes, but some don't.

> you can't use the platform like your own personal soapbox.

Lineker didn't express his opinion on the BBC's platform. He used his personal account on Twitter, which is clearly separate from the BBC.

Whether licence-fee payers expect BBC sports presenters to refrain from expressing political opinions outside of their work for the BBC is debatable - as far as I know, nobody has consulted them in a systematic way.

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> It's funded by a subscription paid by owners of TV reception equipment.

Netflix is funded by a subscription paid by owners of TV reception equipment.

The BBC is funded by a mandatory licence, i.e. a tax.

> Lineker didn't express his opinion on the BBC's platform. He used his personal account on Twitter, which is clearly separate from the BBC

Not according to the policy that Lineker agreed to, in order to work at the BBC.

> Personal Activity

> Disclaimers written in biographies such as ‘my views not the BBC’s’ provide no defence against personal expressions of opinion on social media that may conflict with BBC guidelines.

> They should not:

> express support for any political party express a view for or against any policy which is a matter of current party political debate

https://www.bbc.com/editorialguidelines/guidance/social-medi...

You conveniently ignore the fact that the guidelines you quote are specifically regarding "Individuals involved in the production or presentation of any output in News or other factual areas that regularly deal with a range of public policy issues"

Football commentators are not such individuals.

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> There are also others who are not journalists or involved in factual programming who nevertheless have an additional responsibility to the BBC because of their profile on the BBC. We expect these individuals to avoid taking sides on party political issues or political controversies and to take care when addressing public policy matters.

Having such a public face of the BBC hyperbolically compare government policy to those of the Nazis in 1930s Germany is inappropriate.

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