Quote: (07-06-2015 01:55 PM)Bad Hussar Wrote:It should be challenged.
What is the current legal basis of the TV License? In this day and age it seems ridiculous. Why should the BBC get public money while other media groups get nothing? And what justification is there that "bigwigs" get bonuses if their organisation is dependent on public money. Actually not even public money, as in taxes, but money directly from the public in the form of a licence fee.
Has the licence fee ever been challenged in court in the UK? I know very well that any presiding judge would likely be chums with BBC board members, but you never know...
In any event, sounds like it was a great event. If I was anywhere in Northern Europe at the time would definitely have been there.
Laws are man-made and it has solid 'legal basis'. Neglecting to pay the TV licence can cause entry in to your property by police and legal agents of the BBC(baliffs). Watching TV without a licence can lead to prosecution and fines if found guilty, which usually happens if baliffs have entered your property and seen a TV capable of receiving broadcast TV.
A lot of people are getting wise to it though. There are numerous videos on youtube of people turning baliffs away. Some people are starting to see it as pointless.
It's possible to declare exemption, if you don't have the equipment to watch broadcast TV. I don't, and haven't done for a few years now, most of their output is shoddy, and they have obvious agendas. The BBC's law makers are catching up and trying to include internet and smart phones as devices that deserve licencing. A lot of people feel it is in its final years of existence, the current government are trying to wean it off the state.