The BBC is encrypting its HD signal by the back door
Back in August, the BBC sent a quiet notice to Ofcom asking for permission to cripple the next generation of digital television broadcasts. The BBC had apparently been meeting "third party content owners" who had "made it clear" that they expected the corporation to find ways to violate the regulation that forbids it from encrypting free television, and it thought it had found a way.
Some background: licence-fee-paid television must be free to receive in the UK. Unlike cable and commercial satellite signals, free-to-air television is carried on public airwaves, which broadcasters are allowed to use for free. In return, broadcasters are expected to provide programming on those airwaves, for free. And not just free as in "free beer", but also free as in "free speech." The terms and conditions for free-to-air telly are "Do anything you want with this, provided it doesn't violate copyright law."
