Scarborough Magistrates' Court has become the first in England and Wales to ban users from watching TV on their devices while they are waiting.
According to the Express, a (very wordy) notice has been attached to the waiting room wall saying: "It's a criminal offence to watch or listen to the following within the court building. Any TV channel, including BBC iPlayer, Sky, Virgin, or any other pay TV service. This includes live streaming Amazon Prime video, Netflix or YouTube. This also includes watching, recording and downloading on any device."
TV Licensing is said to have sent the court one of its scary missives, warning that unless people refrain from watching "live" TV in the building there will be legal consequences. You can read more about TV licence requirements in my earlier guide.
It appears that court managers have interpreted the letter a bit too strictly, as in most circumstances those sitting in the waiting room will already be covered to watch "live" TV on their mobile devices, by virtue of their home TV licence.
The rules allow anyone whose residential property is covered by a valid TV licence to watch "live" TV programmes on a mobile device absolutely anywhere else. That includes when they are sitting in a residential or business premises that is not covered by its own TV licence, like Scarborough Magistrates' Court.
To be fair to TV Licensing, it has actually clarified that point by telling the Express: "People covered by a TV licence at their home address can watch BBC iPlayer or stream live content on a battery-powered device anywhere. And you don't need a licence to watch other on-demand programming on Netflix or other platforms."
So it would appear that the Scarborough ban is a bit of knee-jerk reaction on the part of court bosses. I would fully expect the removal of the notice sometime soon.
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