The newest season of hit series Black Mirror has caused a stir online, and for good reason too. Written by Charlie Brooker, the show may have prompted many viewers to rethink how quickly they accept the terms and conditions of a service without reading them. Independent online casino reviewer Casino Alpha discovered that searches for “Netflix terms and conditions” soared by 596% within just over three days since the release of Black Mirror’s new season.
The first episode of the sixth season of Black Mirror, released on June 16th, is called “Joan is Awful”. It features a dramatic situation that resulted from a common everyday mistake: accepting the terms and conditions of an online service without reading them.
Viewers in the UK have so far shown an especially high interest in knowing more about Netflix’s terms and conditions, followed by those in Australia and the US. According to CasinoAlpha.ie, within just 80 hours of the release of the new Black Mirror season, 596% more people searched for “Netflix terms and conditions” on Google. This is happening on the backdrop of an already increased concern for the streaming service’s new stance on tackling password sharing.
Tudor Turiceanu, CEO of CasinoAlpha.ie commented on the findings: “Without triggering any spoiler alerts, it is clear that despite today’s awareness of data privacy concerns being higher than ever, it is so easy to forget that terms and conditions are, in fact, a contract. Companies know that realistically, very few will sit there and read the T&Cs carefully, though clearly, as the data we analysed shows, many became more aware of them following Black Mirror‘s first episode.
“This may be a good time for policy makers to intervene and make it easier for users to understand what they are agreeing to because telling people to just read the small print rarely works. Of course, this is a very difficult task, but then so was GDPR legislation at the time. There is some relief, though, in knowing that companies will avoid hiding any Godzillas in the small print for fear of some Samaritan lawyer out there eventually spotting it.”
The British hit series explores the great leaps in technology, especially those involving screens, and the darker implications they may have. First released in 2011, Black Mirror has so far received 109 nominations and won 27 awards, six of which are Emmys.
