I am writing to express my deep frustration at the BBC’s recent decision to block international access to its BBC Sounds platform. Since 21 July, listeners outside the UK have been cut off from a vast archive of cultural and educational programming – material that, until now, represented the BBC’s global public service mission.
As a primary school teacher and an English language educator based outside the UK, I feel this decision as a personal and professional loss. For years, I have used BBC Sounds to access authentic, native-level English content that helped me improve my listening skills and bring real-world language into my classroom. It was an extraordinary free tool – one that supported both lifelong learning and international cultural exchange.
Now, the only way for non-UK users to continue accessing these resources is to use a VPN and invent a UK postcode – effectively forcing us to lie. Is this truly in line with the BBC’s values? The BBC has long been a trusted global institution. This decision damages that trust. It reduces cultural access, harms language learners, educators and researchers, and undermines the very values the BBC claims to uphold. Surely there must be a more respectful way to manage licensing restrictions than simply turning away the world.
Andrés Simón Gil Gil
Almendralejo, Spain
