LiveATC Discussion Forums

Air Traffic Monitoring => Aviation Audio Clips => Topic started by: philip on August 10, 2013, 10:02:11 AM

Title: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: philip on August 10, 2013, 10:02:11 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n5_UPbjABM
Title: Re: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: phil-s on August 11, 2013, 01:23:34 AM
Nice video. Is downloading ATC audio no longer UK illegal?
Title: Re: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: flyflyfly on August 11, 2013, 02:57:54 PM
Nice video. Is downloading ATC audio no longer UK illegal?
Ssssh!  :wink:
Title: Re: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: lipkinasl on October 04, 2013, 03:30:06 PM
You can record UK ATC audio, you just can't re-transmit it live in real time....

i.e. a live feed on here would not be allowed, but a recording is allowed.

Makes no sense, but when did any rule in the UK make any sense?
Title: Re: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: TMNT on October 13, 2013, 06:08:24 AM
What about re-transmitting with a time-delay? Not sure what the fine print on that law consists of, and how "real-time" is legally defined. What if their was a 10 sec delay on the audio before it is re-transmitted.

If something is said by ATC at 0650:23 and it is re-transmitted at 0650:26, technically isn't it no longer "real-time"
Title: Re: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: InterpreDemon on October 13, 2013, 02:15:48 PM
It seems to me that the thing to do would be to set UK sites up as normal, just do not enable the live feed and only make the archives available... that would at least enable one to listen in real-time minus an hour or so. The legal question is whether the stream to the LiveATC server would be considered a live re-transmission even if not made available in real-time to the public. The solution in that case is to have a one or two hour buffer at the feed end, which can probably be done with modification of Darkice, and it also transfers the legal responsibility/liability to the British feed volunteer. In any event the British have so many ways of tamping down free speech "for the common good", massive fines on the press for "errors" and such, I have no doubt the authorities could find something in their statutes to shut down or imprison our hapless brother volunteers if they chose to.
Title: Re: London Heathrow Video with ATC
Post by: flyflyfly on October 13, 2013, 04:23:59 PM
I'm not sure that listening to UK ATC in non-real time is legal. Do you have any reference to something official?

Heathrow is still explicitly warning (http://www.heathrow-london.co.uk/airport/plane-spotters/the-law-regarding-listening-to-uk-air-traffic) plane spotters:
It is illegal to listen in on ATC communications between ATC and pilots if you’re not required to be listening (for instance, if you’re flying in the same region). You can listen to ATC if given permission, e.g. at an air show.

I think the legal issue still comes from the "Wireless Telegraphy Act", a law that has roots back to about a hundred years ago, when all sorts of private communication/telegraphy was transmitted using unencrypted signals. The law restricts people to listening to public broadcasts only - while intercepting any private/directed communication was made illegal, unless you had explicit authorization.

In theory, it's also illegal for pilots/controllers to listen to ATC transmissions when they are off duty. There's a similar issue with other, mostly European countries. In practice, I don't think this law is really enforced for ATC transmissions - officials turn a blind eye, unless the interception is too obvious. A policeman once told me to better turn the volume down or use headphones... :-D. But I suspect that streaming transmissions via liveATC would be a little too obvious - and authorities would eventually object...