Smartphone owners hit with TV-licence fee
Published: 4 Mar 13 07:15 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/46516/20130304/
Swedish TV-licence fee collectors have started asking Swedes if they have smartphones, in a drive to round up anyone who may be streaming content online but not paying the annual television fee.
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In recent weeks, TV-licence fee collection agency Radiotjänst has made a push to target Swedes who watch digitally streamed content on computer and tablet devices such as the iPad.
Now, the Kiruna-based company is targeting smartphone users, and a handful of Swedes have already coughed up for their mobile usage.
"Three people who can watch television on their mobile phones have chosen to pay the fee so far," Radiotjänst's CEO Carl-Gustav Johansson told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN).
"Despite this, it's possible that they even have a computer, with a separate screen, or a TV-apparatus that they can also use."
Radiotjänst workers have started a round-up telephone survey of the 350,000 Swedes not paying the fee, in order to confirm if any of them are using any "contributing equipment" that would allow them to stream online content, wrote DN.
Johansson explained that in February alone, 2,000 Swedes joined the list of those paying for their TV.
"It's probably because people are realizing the new rules are in place," he told DN.
The Swedish TV-licence law has been in place since 2006, when it was stated that anyone who can access an entire TV channel on any device is require to pay the fee. When private broadcaster TV4 put all their channels online in autumn last year, that law came into effect.
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The internet is very different, you can easily limit access to your content based on who has paid and who has not. Therefore only allow content to those who are willing to pay it. I guess they wouldn't like this idea though because chances are nobody would would ever sign up for it.
That in turn, begs the larger question. Why charge the public lots of money to produce content that no one watches?
I'm with you buddy....this is friggin nuts!!
Lets face it everyone watches tv...so just increase taxes and be done with it, sack the collection agency, cut your costs, in turn reducing the tax increase of which people like stockholm sam are willing to pay and consequently stop the waste of resources and money squandering chasing smart phone users and computer users....that's insanity. Where is the common sense and direction of our great leaders??
If they call to make this determination, I would liketo know the number as this will give me the option to ignore their call, or to hit an app to screeches out a fax tone into their ears.
Also, if happen to 'forget' when they have call that I have a computer, and if they later discover that I have a computer, does anyone how big the fine will be?
It is better to have true caller block such spam calls. We are now in 2013....not 80s.
Why TV license fee make it better by charging whoever access their online-TV. What about people using Kontant without internet on their phone, they have to pay tv fee too?
...right now I think Radiotjänst is killing themselves. We'll see another payment system within a year, and Radiotjänst will be killed. (And Kiruna will complain about lost jobs. Smooth!)
This mobile tax thing does nothing but reinforce the idea that people making the decisions are nothing but dumb apes being paid large amounts of money via the licence fee for their own bonuses. As someone said its 2013. Sweden may lead in technology, but the mentality is stuck in the 80's.
If you suspect people of viewing streaming media for the channels on their mobile devices YOU ASK THEM FOR THEIR PERSONAL NUMBER ON THE STREAMING MEDIA ACCOUNT. It doesn't take a genius on the computer to connect together a personal number with a registered address with a valid TV licence. If your registered address doesn't have a valid licence, then you get charged on demand or something.. Im pretty sure 99% of this is already done and in a computer system, it just takes a brain , something very lacking in many circumstances
In my opinion this new law is violating findamental understanding of rights. Where are the laywers? Does this law comply with EU laws?
If all person with internet access should pay, then please call it internet tax. But in this case the tax should not go to the television providers and it could be easily collected by the internet providers.
Radiotjänst: Don't lie! You only want other people money because you could not run the company well! Why should I then pay for your problems??
Is there any organisaton to start fighting back? I would love to join!
The only way for this to make sense is if they convert to a encrypted digital signal and (provide/rent) the basic equipment. Then anyone interested could willfully apply. Radiotjänst could even charge an even higher premium for the equipment. Of course, how many would be interested?
The way public TV is right now could be perceived as a racket: "We are free to put up any program we like and you are forced to pay, regardless of usage". Simply ridiculous!