November 10, 2020		INDEX
I think the primary purpose of data protection legislation is to protect corporations like Facebook and Virgin. Just the same as the primary use, if not purpose, of anti terrorist legislation was to harass the left, not to catch terrorists. My example today comes in the form of Virgin. I am full of awe for the fact that Virgin still exists. When the original broadband cables were dug it was clear that it was going to cost consumers more than they were likely to be prepared to pay, so the only way to make the system work was to appear to charge less than you really do! These days Virgin fends off customers in a variety of ways: the most intriguing that had me pulling my hair out today is 'area references'. To log into my account I needed not just a user name and an account number but also an area reference. And Virgin tells you it's easy to find this, except it isn't. It's supposed to be on the bills you can download (they won't send you bills because of their data protection policy). In fact the several bills I checked never had an area reference. You may say this is simply data protection legislation but it isn't. Data protection law excludes communication with customers. It is just Virgin doing what it does best: Virgin on the ridiculous. Kafka would be proud.
INDEX Jonathan Brind	November 10, 2020