Re:The BBC on the Rack
by buckminster on Saturday April 04, 2020 @11:17AM
(#22778712)
> The TV receives broadcast media - it doesn't send anything out.
Old school CRT TVs and monitors most definitely rebroadcast what they are displaying [1]. Modern TVs still do, but not at the same power levels. I would guess that a tempest attack on a modern TV is very difficult. I don't know if the BBC has ever used any of these techniques. But it's not impossible.
> It used to be the case that you required a TV license merely to possess a TV.
This has never been the case.
Worse in Germany. In the past, you paid for public broadcasting if you possessed a device capable of receiving a broadcast - independently of what you used it for, or if at all. Even that wasn't coercive enough for the powers that be, so now it's just a household tax, no way of escape left.
The BBC claim they can detect if you're watching, but this is of course, bullshit. The TV receives broadcast media - it doesn't send anything out. The only way they can catch you is in the act, if you leave your blinds or curtains open and they can see the TV playing live.
The main tactic they use to make people pay the license is constant intimidation and threats. There is a form you can fill out to clearly state that you do not use a TV for any of the purposes which require a license fee, but this has little use as the bullies will still come knocking even if you fill it out.
The main thing people need is awareness that they do not need to pay the license fee to merely own a TV for watching Netflix or anything not covered by the license. If one of their cronies comes knocking, you tell them to get lost. If they come again, threaten to report them for harassment. If they take you to court, you explain that you don't use the TV for any of the covered purposes and the BBC pays your court costs and leaves you alone after that.