On 15/10/2012 10:48 AM, brick...@62bricks.com wrote:
Online content that is blocked for certain regions can be viewed using
a proxy service. There is a simple program called Tunnelbear,
available at http://tunnelbear.com , that will allow you to view
content that is restricted to the UK. You just download the program,
turn it "on" and set it to "UK" and sites like BBC iPlayer will
function. The service is free with a monthly data limit.
Using proxy services is common and completely legal
In the context of Mac's question, the above statement seems overly
simple to me, and a full answer must depend on the country you live in.
In Canada, using a proxy service is indeed completely legal in itself.
However, with the Copyright Moderization Act passed back in September it
becomes a crimal offence to "avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate or impair
[a] technological protection measure unless it is done with the
authority of the copyright owner" where a technological protection
measure is defined as "any effective technology, device or component
that, in the ordinary course of its operation [...] controls access to a
work". The new law is still waiting for Royal Assent but this is
expected soon.
In its ordinary course of operation the iPlayer prevents access for
non-UK viewing. This control is in place specifically for copyright
reasons so, to my way of thinking, in Canada use of a proxy could
perhaps be contrued as an attempt to circumvent the protection measure.
An analogy might be that although it's OK to posess a screwdriver, it is
illegal in Canada to use that screwdriver to remove a neighbour's
doorlock to get in order to use the pool while the neighbour is on vacation.
I concede however, that I have no legal training, and of course there's
no Case Law in place yet to guide us on how the courts would actually
view the practice.
Steve
On 15.10.2012 06:05, Mac Oglesby wrote:
Alas! I get a message saying "BBC iPlayer programmes are available to
play in the UK only,"
Any alternatives which might let those of us not in the UK see Mike?
Best wishes,
Mac Oglesby
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