Now BBC iPlayer police ‘may spy on your net use’

THE BBC could spy on home internet use to enforce new rules designed to punish those who watch on- demand programmes online without a TV licence, experts have warned.

The overhaul of the ‘iPlayer loophole’ means that from tomorrow viewers will need to pay the £145.50 licence fee to catch up on programmes using their mobile devices and laptops.

But fears have been raised that the secretive techniques used by the BBC to police the new system could be a breach of privacy.

The Corporation has refused to provide details about how its sophisticated detection technology works, claiming that the information would help licence fee dodgers cheat the system.

Instead, bosses have said that surveillance of devices such as smartphones and tablets – potentially using its fleet of spy vans – will not use data from private home internet networks.

But technology expert David McClelland, who appears on BBC programmes such as Watchdog, said that an effective system would require officials to monitor domestic internet use.

‘I’m stumped as to how else a van outside my house would be able to tell if I’m watching Strictly Come Dancing in bed on my iPhone if it wasn’t looking at my wi-fi usage patterns,’ he said.

Mr McClelland said that while officials may not ‘snoop on content’, they could trace a property’s internet ‘fingerprint’ to detect whether residents use iPlayer services online. He added that a number of techniques could be used to get around licensing officials’ potential checks, which would not monitor viewers using 3G and 4G internet provided over mobile phone networks.

Officials hoping to prosecute viewers are also expected to face opposition from mobile phone and broadband providers, who would be reluctant to hand over customer details. The Govern- ment has also insisted it has no plans to allow BBC and TV Licensing officials access to internet records to help enforce the new rules. Those breaching them could face a fine of up to £1,000.

The loophole, meaning the licence fee only covers live TV and not the estimated 500,000 people using catch-up services, is being closed after BBC lobbying.

Privacy campaigner Renate Samson, chief executive of Big Brother Watch, questioned whether the threat of imposing £1,000 fines was a ‘scare tactic’.

She added: ‘If there is a grain of truth in the idea that they will be able to monitor our internet activity, the BBC needs to be honest about exactly how they intend to watch us watching them.’

TV Licensing yesterday insisted that officials ‘did not access any information as part of our detection technology’.

A spokesman said: ‘We have a range of enforcement techniques which we use and these have already allowed us to prosecute people who watch on a range of devices, not just TVs.’

The changes would help secure the Corporation’s long- term financial future as more view programmes on-demand.

‘Secretive techniques’