Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Questionable search history from staff member

85 replies

CelticMirror · 04/08/2023 07:49

Please help if you can!

NC for this one.

Shared laptop at our club, which is used at times by the teenagers if we are running a show or concert.

One of the adult staff members leaves his internet search engine account logged in.

I was using the laptop a couple of days ago and found that porn sites come up in the search bar history. I know this isn't being accessed from the club laptop (it's linked to his G account) but I am very, very uncomfortable that one of the kids might have seen this. We have kids as young as 12.

I gently notified the person in charge, who has had a word with him. Person in charge also is convinced that it's unlikely that any of the kids would have seen anything and that the risk is low but I really think he is brushing this under the carpet.

Am I being unreasonable to think that if this was a school, this guy would have been fired instantly?

I'm not sure what the answer is here; the guy in question is a good friend of mine. I know it was a genuine (albeit stupid and very, very thoughtless) mistake, but surely this is a major safeguarding issue?

OP posts:
CattyCattle · 05/08/2023 17:07

Porn would not have been accessed even with the search for it in the history. If porn can be accessed that's a IT issue. No porn was accessed. This is a non issue and tbh I couldn't give a flying fuck about a man searching and watching legal porn in his own house on his own device in his own time. Not everyone who watches porn is a porn addict. Don't be ridiculous.

If you'd like a law passed making porn illegal or watching it illegal than make a petition and get it read in parliment. Otherwise it's none of anyone's business.

The organisation is at fault for not having staff and guest user accounts.

fdgdfgdfgdfg · 05/08/2023 17:13

RoyalImpatience · 04/08/2023 10:12

I think it's highly irregular to want to search porn in such a place. Is he that desperate /aroused that he needs to be do it at work.

I think it's absolutely vile.

He's not doing it and work, do try and read the thread properly.

DojaPhat · 05/08/2023 17:14

determinedtomakethiswork · 05/08/2023 10:43

I hadn't realised that if you logged in to your Google account on another computer that it would carry all your searches with it. It sounds as though it was a genuine error on his part and that he hadn't realised this would happen and obviously he wasn't searching it while he was there. I think he needs a separate login for work and you need to calm down.

But if OP does that how will she be able to ensure that the man gets fired but hopefully prosecuted and ideally end up on a list somewhere?

Caterina99 · 05/08/2023 17:25

God I didn’t even know this was a thing! I don’t want work particularly knowing what I’m searching for at home (and it’s not porn)

Nothing was accessed at work, no kids were involved. What your work needs to do is tighten up the IT settings and update the policies. No one uses their personal accounts on work computers. Ever. End of. The poor man has done nothing wrong, other than make the mistake of leaving his account logged in at work.

BellsMoon · 05/08/2023 17:28

Huge safeguarding issue. Red flags all over it.

This man:

  1. accessed porn on a shared laptop from a club.
  2. a club where children can access the shared laptop
  3. left himself logged on so children could accidentally see the porn.

I would worry that he left himself logged on DELIBERATELY. We just don't know, do we? Your club's safeguarding needs an urgent review, including further training for everyone.

OP, well done for bringing it to the person in charge but don't just leave it there. Make a fuss. Make a formal complaint if you have to, because it seems you're the only one who seems to be taking it seriously.

CattyCattle · 05/08/2023 17:35

BellsMoon · 05/08/2023 17:28

Huge safeguarding issue. Red flags all over it.

This man:

  1. accessed porn on a shared laptop from a club.
  2. a club where children can access the shared laptop
  3. left himself logged on so children could accidentally see the porn.

I would worry that he left himself logged on DELIBERATELY. We just don't know, do we? Your club's safeguarding needs an urgent review, including further training for everyone.

OP, well done for bringing it to the person in charge but don't just leave it there. Make a fuss. Make a formal complaint if you have to, because it seems you're the only one who seems to be taking it seriously.

Read the actual thread before you get on your high horse. No he did not!

Nopenott0day · 05/08/2023 17:46

The level of technological illiteracy in this thread is shocking.

BellsMoon · 05/08/2023 18:14

Read the actual thread before you get on your high horse. No he did not!

Fair enough. However, point still stands that the safeguarding issue is being minimised by the safeguarding lead. They do need further training, and OP needs to make a formal complaint if it continues to be brushed under the carpet.

CattyCattle · 05/08/2023 18:22

BellsMoon · 05/08/2023 18:14

Read the actual thread before you get on your high horse. No he did not!

Fair enough. However, point still stands that the safeguarding issue is being minimised by the safeguarding lead. They do need further training, and OP needs to make a formal complaint if it continues to be brushed under the carpet.

What more do you really think could happen? He's been spoken to and told off. The next stage would be a grievance and I'm not sure it could get that far as he's apologised and it's technically their mistake for not having seperate user accounts.

What needs to happen is company and guest user accounts. We all search for things that we wouldn't want adults of children we work with to see and this would prevent it.

TooOldForThisNonsense · 05/08/2023 18:25

If they’d been sacked instantly in a school it would probably be an unfair dismissal. It is not ideal clearly but he hasn’t used the club laptop to access porn. His mistake has been not being more careful when logging into google. It would need to take a very robust IT use policy to get anywhere near a fair dismissal for that.

tell him to be more careful in future.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread