I have a tv licence but years ago tv authority people would see if there was a tv signal in your house then fine you if you didn't. People would quickly hide their tv etc.
But does anyone know how they find out if anyone uses Iplayer today with no licence?

Just the same as always , they don't know unless you invite them in and show them and then sign a paper saying so.

They can't possibly know unless you invite them in and show them your internet history. If you do that you deserve to be fined.

The collectors of the TV licence fee (Capita) know whether an address has a licence.

Yes but they have no way of telling if you are on IPlayer.

They don't at the moment.

Whether someone logs in or not all devices on the internet can be traced instantly. The technology is there and used by online shops, banks, etc.

They can monitor and look into anything.

Your location is often tracked or given away by " cookies" on your device and the ISP you use, hence you get local adverts cone up. You can disable this but still whatever ISP you use will give an idea.

If you search Maps like google maps then your current location is given away.

Often it's easy to track someone, i.e. If you post here and someone says, I saw a car crash at 5.10 pm today, it may give out your location. People saying weather etc also narrows people down and a quick cross check with the TVL records will give a pretty good idea if you gave a licence or not.

Logging in does tighten thus up, it also removes the excuse of looking by accident, as you deliberately logged in.

If you don't have a TV licence they could technically ask your ISP. They keep your internet history too. They do not have to go anywhere near your house to find out you have been using the BBC iPlayer.

And seeing as advertising agencies know what ISP you are using - believe me, they do - then it is not a stretch that the BBC licencing authorities can get the info.

At the moment there is no legal requirement for your ISP to tell them if you have accessed the BBC iPlayer but it wouldn't surprise me if May's Govt brings this in.

Cheers for your responses. I reckon authorities have amazing ways of knowing stuff. Possibly technologies we are as lay people totally unaware of today.
I, in a funny way, remember the old tv vans and as a student quickly hiding our tele. Seems so funny to me now in my 40's.

You're over thinking it

TVL rely on their staff knocking on doors that don't have licences and getting people to sign a confession.


There were only ever a VERY small number of real detector vans (almost certainly in single figures), most were just dummies, and did the job just as well as their appearance caused people to run out and buy a licence.

They would still have to prove it thought. First time they took someone to court using this 'amazing technology' and they would have to reveal how they found out.

I have ways of watching UK TV for free even though I live on Rhodes, Greece.
Sometimes I use iplayer & ITV Hub to catch up , so use a FREE VPN to do so.

Are TVL amongst the list of organisations that May will be allowing to view peoples internet history??

If so, I assume that they will be able to find out by using the Investigatory Powers Bill.

No they aren't. They would have to get a warrant to access that information and no judge is going to give them that without concrete evidence.

Saying that who's to say someone with a licence wasn't using your connection to watch iPlayer? For example you don't have a licence, your mate who does have a licence pops round and watches iPlayer on their tablet.

Finding out who pays the ISP doesn't help you find out if the person watching iPlayer has a licence or not.

I believe that the house would need a tv licence, no matter who was using it at the time.

You sort of enter a grey area where people could access your internet connection from outside your house though.

Surely the idea of iPlayer, especially on tablets and phones is that you can use it anywhere you can access the internet?

Anyone any idea what the exact wording of the law is?

I don't know what the exact wording is, but it says that a workplace must have a licence as an employees licence doesn't cover them. You also need 2 licences if you have 2 houses.

Premises are licensed not people.

The use of iPlayer on a mobile device away from home is covered by your home licence provided the device you are using is powered solely by it's own batteries and not plugged into the mains.


http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-i...-devices-TOP14

Actually it seems you may be right. This is for businesses but all depends on whether things are plugged in:-

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-i...-organisations

So even if Tv licensing got a hold of your internet history which seems highly unlikely, they still couldn't tell if it was just a visitor using your wifi.

Ah OK. So your unlicensed mate wouldn't be breaking the law then if you (with a licence) used iPlayer round their house, as long as the device wasn't running off the mains. Sounds like tracking people down via their ISP would be pretty useless then. They'd still have to physically catch people using iPlayer without a licence.

Yep, there is no way they can prove that any use was by you. So basically it's another pointless law which can't be enforced in any way.

I guess it's got to be that way. Otherwise what's the point of having iPlayer mobile apps if the owner of the WiFi has to have a licence. Everything from your friends houses to the B&B you're staying in, to the pub you're drinking in.

As you say it makes the law relating to iPlayer unenforceable though, unless someone was daft enough to actually admit it.

The only way to police it would be to insist on some sort of login to iPlayer involving creating an account where you had to confirm your address and TV Licence number. Only if you entered a valid address & number would you be allowed to create a login to access iPlayer.

Though it might need some extra effort to ensure that hundreds of people were not logging on with the same licence number, eg somebody "borrowing" a mate's licence number to create the account.