So. A “schoolboy error” as my dear sister said. I managed to lock myself out of the Internet on my Tesco mobile account. I was so overjoyed, (really), to have recovered the account, which I thought I had lost, having not used it for more than 6 months, (apparently they often recycle numbers not used for 6 months), that I got carried away going through the account menu, looking for things I could change! Yes. I am a geek. I came across the “Security Settings” page. I was offered a choice between: “Content for over 18s only”, “Content for under 18s” and “Content for under 12s”. Well; I very definitely, don’t want to look at so-called “adult content”, (i.e. pornography), on the Internet. So; I don’t want “content for over 18s only”. I chose one of the other ones. It then turned out that I had effectively blocked the Internet on the sim card. I got a message saying “O2 subscription may need topping up” and I was unable to access even a very non-porn site such as DHL’s tracking site. It turns out that “content for over 18s only” does not mean what it says; content suitable for adults. It means, apparently, the whole Internet. For me this is 100% back to front, though I am willing to believe the customer service assistant that I am the first person he has spoken to who reads it this way. In effect, though, this is not a mechanism for blocking “adult content”; it is a mechanism for either accepting the Internet which is regarded as synonymous with “adult content” or having no Internet. You cannot have the Internet and opt-out of pornography as I had naively assumed might be possible, (understanding, of course, that no filter system is perfect); there is no option for adults who don’t want porn. Perhaps this should not be surprising given that 25% of Briton’s watch porn on the Internet on a regular basis. [1] (Which leaves many more, on an occasional basis).
A system promoted as regulating pornography appears, in fact, to encourage its use. Surprise, surprise.
There is another marker of the age in this little saga. In order to change the setting back to the “allow porn and let me use the Internet” setting it is necessary to enter a credit card. And here again, I am an outlier in modern Britain. not having a credit card. The wording indicates that Tesco assumes everyone has a credit card. (No mention of this little catch is made on the page before you change the setting). Perhaps I should get one?…. Porn and credit, two big businesses in modern Britain are being promoted here.
And, of course, the final marker of the times, is that all this is potentially performative. Any 14 year old boy who wants to watch porn simply has to locate his parent’s credit cards and enter the details. I doubt it comes up as “porn” on the credit card statement, though perhaps it comes up as something like “age verification”? I guess this is regarded as a system which meets “compliance” standards and everyone can say they have done something about the problem. As usual the main aim of regulation is not to control a social problem but to figure out how to make as much money as possible while avoiding mad excesses that could bring the system into disrepute and jeopardise the revenue stream. #porn #tesco #britain
On another rather sordid note, I’ve been getting adverts in Microsoft Outlook since I returned to the UK. (One of the blessings living in Russia is you get far less advertising, because of companies engaging in reputation management not wishing to be seen to be making money in Russia.) The adverts are typically about: gambling, “secret dating” (adultery?) and “credit”, (the banking industry’s euphemism for debt). Of course; this is where the money is.
Notes