Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: BBC sends cops to arrest nonviewer for refusing to pay the
 licensing fee
Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 19:52:31 -0400
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On 2025-05-31 5:02 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Americans who complain about the inconsequentially small subsidy given
> to public television and radio licensees have no idea how good we have
> it in this country. In the UK, there's been a mandatory licensing fee
> for receiving radio and television via the natural electromagnetic
> spectrum and expanded to receiving a signal via other methods. The BBC
> receives a phenomenal public subsidy of close to lb 4 billion.
> 
And I thought our CBC got an obscene amount of money ($1.5 billion a 
year under Trudeau, increased by $150 million under Carney, probably to 
thank them for their enthusiastic coverage of his recent election 
campaign.)

> It's very difficult to avoid being not subject to the licensing fee. A
> man chose not to watch tv and informed BBC that he was not subject to
> the licensing fee.
>
The video was educational for me. I knew about the license fee but not 
the precise terms. I always thought it was only for BBC channels but 
apparently it's for the commercial channels like ITV and Channel 4 as 
well. BUT you don't have to pay it if you don't watch live TV and you 
don't use any services like iPlayer to view programming on a delay.

That means if you use your TV simply to watch DVDs, BluRays, VHS, etc. 
you don't need to pay the license fee. But it's not clear how they know 
that you're not watching live TV or if you have to notify them to be 
exempt from the fee.

> BBC sent the police to arrest him. Not watching tv is criminal behavior.
> 
> They had videod him looking at a video with a still taken from a BBC
> program that the man found on the Internet. They obviously couldn't
> prove this was live tv (in fact they knew that it wasn't being
> broadcast) and the judge threw the criminal case out.
> 
> But that meant they had to peep through his windows, trespassing.
> 
I'm not so sure about that. I was under the impression that they have 
trucks with direction finders or something similar to tell if you are 
receiving a TV signal. Something along the lines of the vans they used 
during WWII to see if someone was operating a radio transmitter and was 
presumably a foreign spy.

> I've seen videos in which UK barristers explain that BBC license
> enforcement has an implied right of access to enter the premisis to look
> for contraband unlicensed radio and tv receivers.
> 
> The man was sick of the nasty letters and pounding on the door to be let
> in, so he wrote to BBC in order to withdraw the implied right of access.
> 
> You cannot stand up for your rights in the UK, what few remain.
Sure you can. You just have to cough up staggering sums of money to take 
them to court via a lawsuit.

That's what really ought to be done. There should be a class action 
against the licensing authority launched by all those who don't watch 
live TV or use services based on live TV who are being hassled by the 
police on behalf of the licensing body. The intent should be to get some 
compensation for the harassment but also to establish a clear and fair 
way so that you can opt out of the license fee and they have some fair 
and preferably non-intrusive way to spot check occasionally to ensure 
you aren't cheating (or, ideally, just prevent you from getting a live 
signal at all so they KNOW you aren't cheating.)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XowfxO_-eYA


-- 
Rhino