The Government has just laid new legislation before Parliament, which is designed to close the so-called iPlayer loophole.
The Communications (Television Licensing)(Amendment) Regulations 2016 will come into force on 1st September 2016.
You can read our opinion on the new rules in our earlier post on the subject.
Under current arrangements a TV licence is not required to view non-live, on-demand content via the BBC iPlayer. From the beginning of September a TV licence will be required to view this type of content.
The new legislation only covers the BBC iPlayer. Licence-free viewers will still be able to legally enjoy any non-live, on-demand content provided by other broadcasters. We would encourage people to view those alternative content streams instead.
We do not agree with this latest piece of legislation. It is worst type of legislation - confusing, unfair, unenforceable. It has been drafted by a weak Secretary of State to appease an institutionally-corrupt, cash-greedy BBC.
Far better, in our opinion, for the Government to force the BBC to live within its means. The BBC wastes millions every month through financial mismanagement, whereas closing the so-called iPlayer loophole will generate virtually no extra revenue.
You can read the new 2016 Regulations here.
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