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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Lauren Gordon

Black Mirror's 'Joan Is Awful 'sparks global panic as viewers change major habit

Black Mirror's latest episode, Joan Is Awful has left viewers feeling spooked.

Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Annie Murphy and Himesh Patel star in the debut episode of the sixth season, which shows the dramatic situation that resulted from a common everyday mistake: accepting the terms and conditions of an online service without reading them.

In Joan is Awful, an average woman (Annie Murphy) is shocked to discover a global streaming platform has launched a prestige TV drama adaptation of her life - in which she is portrayed by Salma.

Within three days of the release, searches for Netflix's terms and conditions have soared by 596%, according to independent online casino reviewer Casino Alpha.

Joan's character has a how made out of her life (Netflix)

"Within just 80 hours of the release of the new Black Mirror season, 596% more people searched for ' Netflix terms and conditions' on Google," a spokesperson for Casino Alpha exclusively told us.

"This is happening on the backdrop of an already increased concern for the streaming service's new stance on tackling password sharing."

The CEO of the company Tudor Turiceanu shared further insight on the finding, saying: "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.

Salma Hayek made her Black Mirror debut (Ana Blumekron/Netflix)

"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."

The new findings come after the show's creator Charlie Brooker clarified what the show was really about.

Speaking to Games Radar+, he reminded audiences that the show is designed to make people to look closer within themselves, not technology.

Charlie shared the real meaning behind the show (Nick Wall/Netflix)

"There was a slight danger... that people were bracketing [the series] as the 'tech is bad' show," Charlie said. "I found that a bit frustrating partly because I always felt like, 'Well, the show isn't saying tech is bad, the show is saying people are f**ked up'.

"So, you know, get it right," he concluded.

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