Big Brother - new Internet Surveillance Law

I knew about the massive video surveillance efforts in the UK, but to me this feels like a step too far. I'm just curious what those of you already living in the UK think about it? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/19/extreme-surveillance-becomes-uk-law-with-barely-a-whimper

I fully support the Government's efforts on this and all matters.

though this is my fav



I think Browning said it best –
Oh to be in England
Now that May's there

Yeah, there's a lot of big brother here.  But I think that's becoming more commonplace around the world.

The thing that kills me are the TV licenses we have to pay for annually.  Then they have vans that drive around to people's homes that don't pay the license and use some kind of surveillance equipment that detects if there is a TV or computer in the home and then they get threatening letters and knocks on the door.  It's all very weird.

But no country is perfect.  It is what it is.

Research I did when we were giving up our licence made me confident the vans are to a large extent a publicity stunt. They exist, but there are so few of them on patrol the odds of getting surveilled are vanishingly small. That being said, with the new rules coming into force, I wouldn't be surprised if online monitoring is eventually coming down the pike.

Not encouraging breaking the law, but nobody is obliged to answer a knock at the door by Capita, the contractors the BBC employs. Or reply to their letters, which are hilariously threatening but toothless. (People often keep getting them even when they inform Capita they don't watch TV). We've been collecting them for years to read whenever we need a laugh.

I think Browning said it best –
Oh to be in England
Now that May's there

We haven't just put up all these cameras and had this planned surveillance since May came in People who work for the state don't move that quickly.

Have you ever been on the hunt for noses in London? Noses put up 'under the noses' of the cameras in London in the late 90s?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Noses

Even funnier are the websites of some tourists who think the nose placed under Admiralty Arch is a spare nose for Nelson's statue.
http://www.quirkyguide.com/place/nelsons-spare-nose-london

We haven't just put up all these cameras and had this planned surveillance since May came in People who work for the state don't move that quickly.

I know, but you try to resist replacing April with May.

Have you ever been on the hunt for noses in London?

No. Thanks for the heads-up!

Spotted at the British Museum:

The thing that kills me are the TV licenses we have to pay for annually. 

No we don't.

You can go on their website and give a statement that you are not going to pay them anymore just to watch their leftie claptrap, as the BBC are meant to be neutral. I've never had a letter from them. If I did, I would be attaching their prepaid rely envelope onto an Argos catalogue.

There was no point in paying the BBC when I only ever watched the other channels. If, I want to watch anything on the other channels, I can watch when it isn't live.

I loved it when the BBC said no more watching iplayer either from this year. YES - the other channels have finally broken the link with the BBC, that they wanted to break years ago but the BBC clung on.

Then they have vans that drive around to people's homes that don't pay the license and use some kind of surveillance equipment that detects if there is a TV or computer in the home

Do they? Down every street?

and then they get threatening letters and knocks on the door. 

They don't have a right of entry.

I think the technical limitations make it too difficult to use Internet methods to catch people who haven't paid their license fee.  It's quite difficult to match an IP address with a street address .  They'll claim they can do it but it will be only for show like the infamous detector vans .  Those did nothing but look for flickers through the window. 

The BBC is great, if you watch it you should happily pay.  If you watch the iPlayer, you should pay as well, that old loop hole was a silly accident, it's over now. 

I have a couple of young employees who do not pay TV license as they don't watch tv.  They've had knocks on the door!  Maybe they don't have to answer, but it's still weird to me.

Do you believe them?  Often I don't watch tv is lot like "I'm a vegetarian ", you have to wait for the qualifier "I eat fish and eggs, of course " ,  which translates to "I watch the occasional David Attenborough but that's OK since I pay my other taxes

Do you believe them?  Often I don't watch tv is lot like "I'm a vegetarian ", you have to wait for the qualifier "I eat fish and eggs, of course " ,  which translates to "I watch the occasional David Attenborough but that's OK since I pay my other taxes

One in particular, I believe 100%.  She's Russian and while she speaks perfect English, she likes to watch her old Russian shows and has no desire to have English TV!

I think the technical limitations make it too difficult to use Internet methods to catch people who haven't paid their license fee.

I was thinking of something along the lines of a subscriber service like Sky or whatever. As they used to say in the opening to the 6 Million Dollar Man, we have the technology.

As for knocks on the door, we had one 20 years 51 weeks ago. (We moved here 21 years ago). Didn't have a clue about the TV license then, especially as we were moving straight into a company flat (those were the days…) and all the details were supposed to have been taken care of. I happily let the guy with the clipboard in, and after looking at the television he more or less said "Papers please?" It was sorted amicably.

Fast forward years later and we decided we weren't watching enough to justify the fee, and disliked some of the aspects of the way the beeb were conducting themselves anyway, but as they say, that's another thread.

They're capable of awesome television in between lashings of less awesomeness, and I even love some of the advertisements for themselves they've done over the years, like Perfect Day, and Free Runner:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xR0smB1V58[/youtube]


Alas.
Here's one that's still up, though it's plugging radio, which of course you don't need a license for:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zolqJkmia7Y[/youtube]

Sirius, what do you mean that the other chaanns have broken the link?  AFAIK, if you watch any catch up services you have to buy a license.  Has that changed?

Sirius, what do you mean that the other chaanns have broken the link?  AFAIK, if you watch any catch up services you have to buy a license.  Has that changed?

The new rule was only for iplayer.

 Do I need a TV Licence for all on demand programmes?

    No. You don’t need a licence if you only ever watch on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer* (and you also never watch live TV programmes on any channel, including on iPlayer).

    You don’t need to be covered by a licence to watch any films or TV shows that you buy online.

    *You don’t need a licence to watch S4C TV on demand or listen to radio on iPlayer. You also don’t need one to watch films or TV shows on iPlayer that you’ve bought on the BBC Store.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/bbc-iplayer-and-the-tv-licence


And here too

You only need a TV licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast or use BBC iPlayer – if you only use other catch-up sites, you don't need one.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/tv-licence