Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
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The Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Fee Collection Center of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany), also known as GEZ, is a joint organization of Germany's regional public broadcasting agencies located in Cologne. The GEZ is responsible for collecting broadcast participants' data and collecting broadcasting fee as determined in the Rundfunkfinanzierungsstaatsvertrag (Treaty about the Financing of Broadcasting) for each Rundunfsempfangsgerät, for example TVs, radios or computers.
The GEZ became the target of criticism recently as it was decided that Neuartige Rundfunkempfänger (novel broadcast receiving devices) are subject to fee. This includes mobile phones and computers that are capable of connecting to the internet, even if the owner doesn't use these features at all.