ForumGarden

We had a thread about this in 2005 but I think it's too old to bump.

The law in the UK changed today.

The Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2016

It now demands a licence for accessing "an on-demand programme service which is provided by the BBC". That's the Internet. It's intended to mean anything from the iPlayer but it actually, as far as I can see, includes program extracts automatically played on the BBC News website and, for example, radio podcast videos. I've deleted the BBC News website from my bookmark toolbar and replaced it with the Guardian's world page.

And how are they going to detect illegal viewing, that's the question.

They'll know the IP address at a given moment for everyone accessing the iPlayer, that's in their own logs.

The only way they can work out whether any given IP address is associated with a TV licence is to find the household to which that IP address has been allocated at that moment. There's nothing in their log to suggest that any single IP address has no associated licence. So no court is ever going to order any ISP to provide names and postal addresses for every BBC iPlayer user in order for TV licensing to weed out the viewers with no licence.

I wonder what they'll come up with. It seems to me the change in the law is to persuade people in this position to voluntarily get a licence even though the iPlayer use is uncheckable.

Does this mean the end of the interminable BBC error thread ?

It's not ALL bad then ?

I fear it must, unless anyone would like to take it over.

spot;1500601 wrote: I fear it must, unless anyone would like to take it over.


Not I anyway.

Perhaps a whip round for the Spot licence appeal would raise enough to keep it going ?

Paying for the licence would not bother me, but responding to the outrageous bullying of TV Licensing's subcontractor Capita PLC in any positive manner is not going to happen. I would much rather comply with the revised law and do without the BBC entirely than allow their disgracefully-worded mailshots a positive outcome.

Reports had suggested that the BBC would use a new “fleet of detector vans to monitor Wi-Fi connections for people using iPlayer. However, a spokesman for TV Licensing told Press Association it did not plan to carry out any form of mass surveillance.

“We expect most people will simply obey the law, he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/ ... tv-licence

So I shall but not by paying a licence fee.

Dreadful people.

You could get a job on the Mail or The Sun or even The Sport (is that still about ?) with such sensationalist descriptions.

We got rid of licensing in the fifties or sixties. My mum was dragged to court for not paying.... sort of funny really to think that someone could go to prison for watching telly.

But this is another area in which the world has gone backwards. Pay tv. No different to the old licencing.

And something ive noticed over about a year now. And i believe its a form of mass afvertising to prepare us.

Foitball has been on telly now since before i was born... but now they keep saying ... Free coveragee.... what are they talking about ? Its always been free.