What can and can't you watch on your phone / tablet in public?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) article article sparked by a reporter sitting next to someone watching pornography on a bus ... and I'm not clear from the article where the law and bylaws stand.

[LiskeardRich]

Every bus wifi I've used doesn't allow video streaming if any kind. Assuming said person was on their 4g network.
Reporter shouldn't be looking at other people's phones anyway. Mind his/her own business

[patch38]

...and if you had your nine-year-old daughter with you and she could see it?

[ChrisB]

"In Prof McGlynn's view, the law would only prevent it if the porn viewer is harassing someone or causing a disturbance."

Or watching illegal porn.....at which point, you are quite entitled to call/text the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police).

"So, what do you do?"

If not illegal, move away if one feels discomfort. Frankly, if you'd rather keep your seat than move away from it (or even just can't look away), you're hardly being offended.

...and if you had your nine-year-old daughter with you and she could see it?

It wouldn't be difficult to remove your child, would it?

[patch38]

It wouldn't be difficult to remove your child, would it?

No it wouldn't but I'd prefer her not to have to see it in the first place.

For the record; I couldn't care less if someone was watching porn and my daughters are 19 and 22 so they are adults and can make their own decision. However I do feel it is socially irresponsible to watch adult content where minors could inadvertently see it.

[ChrisB]

oh agreed, but if it's not illegal, all you can do is to remove your child from seeing it, and try and use peer pressure to stop it. Just like them doing something else objectionable.

I would hope that travel providers would have T&Cs that allow for the removal of said person if being socially irresponsible. But the driver won't want to get involved owing to threat of possible violence.

[Surrey 455]

I have inadvertently watched questionable content on trains in the past. I transfer TV shows from my Freeview recorder to my tablet to watch on the way home from work. These are mostly comedies or drama. On a few occasions I have been caught out by unexpected nudity or sex scenes and I have had to take the decision to switch to another programme. It's very embarrassing because you don't know if any one behind you has noticed.

[Tim]

I watched "the Look of Love" on a BA^» (British Airways - about) flight on their seatback screens.  It was a good film but has a shedload of nudity in it.  I was surprised that BA had chosen to show it.   

[TaplowGreen]

.....is it fundamentally any different to sitting next to someone who is reading a copy of Razzle?

[BerkshireBugsy]

I was on an underground train once from Paddington to Liverpool street and there was a woman sitting down watching something on her ipad and I was standing up. The reflection of her iPad was clearly visible in the reflection in the coach window. Ir was porn.

If I was sitting next to her and I had seen this I could have taken the option to move if I didn't want to see it but I think the fact it was so visible in the reflection of the window made it harder (but not impossible) to avoid

[Adelante_CCT]

...I could have taken the option to move if I didn't want to see it...

Guessing you chose not to 

[grahame]

And along the same lines from Kent Live

A commuter got an eyeful during his journey to work this morning when a couple sat opposite him appeared to throw caution to the wind and get steamy on a busy train.

The randy lovers reportedly gave Lee Dalgleish an indignant look when he asked if the man would move his feet so he could sit down on the 8.45am service from Chatham to London Victoria

While the lady's long coat preserved a little of the couple's dignity, it was suggested underneath they may well have been participating in a saucy "share a seat scheme".

[1st fan]

I was on an underground train once from Paddington to Liverpool street and there was a woman sitting down watching something on her ipad and I was standing up. The reflection of her iPad was clearly visible in the reflection in the coach window. Ir was porn.

If I was sitting next to her and I had seen this I could have taken the option to move if I didn't want to see it but I think the fact it was so visible in the reflection of the window made it harder (but not impossible) to avoid

I had that on a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HST^▸ (High Speed Train) out of Paddington a few years ago with a bloke watching a "film" on his laptop in 1st. He was up against the bulkhead at the end of the carriage and had angled it so that he thought no one could see the screen. When we pulled into Slough he was so engrossed he didn't realise we'd arrived and people could see in from outside. He did have the good sense to use headphones but should have closed the curtains to prevent people inside (via the reflection) and out being able to watch it too.

[Timmer]

My first thought was can't people wait until they get home first to watch this sort of thing, but then the thought came that it could be that they are going home to someone who they don't want to know that they are watching that kind of entertainment.

[Surrey 455]

I once watched a video advertised on the Great Western Coffee Shop Website. Thankfully I was at home at the time.

Re: 10 years ago today - the Sunday Express

Oh, alright then...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFx2twDVsmQ

Parental discretion is advised.

I was very shocked. It has no sound.