SCP-3214
Star Quality
Video recording of SCP-3214
Special Containment Procedures
A specialized Foundation webcrawler1 will monitor digital advertising exchanges for new copies of SCP-3214. Blocking or deleting SCP-3214 from its current exchange may temporarily prevent new SCP-3214 from being served.
If any clickthroughs are detected, a containment team must be dispatched to contain all individuals affected by the anomaly and assess the severity of the outbreak. Hospital records must be monitored for individuals who have ingested all or part of a cellular phone, tablet, laptop computer or wireless router.2 Any device with a screen or speaker must be disconnected from power in the vicinity of individuals experiencing a retargeting event. No cellphone or other susceptible device is allowed within 30 meters of an instance of SCP-3214-1 except during approved tests.
Description
SCP-3214 is a digital video advertisement which displays anomalous retargeting and personalization. It inflicts a compulsion to eat cellular phones and other susceptible devices on those who view or hear it for more than five seconds (hereafter SCP-3214-1). When an SCP-3214-1 does consume such a device, any other susceptible device within approximately 30 meters will be served an SCP-3214 impression.3 If an individual to whom an SCP-3214 impression has been served4 is not infected, they will be retargeted by the anomaly for up to five days.
Retargeting timeline: Retargeting events follow a predictable pattern, recorded below. Individuals who experience a complete retargeting event and successfully avoid infection may experience minor long-term ill effects,5 but are not targeted by the anomaly again.
| Time elapsed | Effect | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 0-24 hours | Impressions begin to be delivered outside of normal ad frames on devices used by the subject. | Subject entered the web address of a major search engine. When attempting to click on the search bar, a popup of SCP-3214 slid down from the top of the screen and intercepted their cursor. |
| 1-2 days | Impressions occur at maximum frequency.6 Titles adopt a confrontational tone, including detailed information about the subject's life. | "What Have You Got To Lose, D-20993?" "Mom Was Right: You're Good For Nothing (But We Can Help)" |
| 2-3 days | Impressions begin to be delivered to any device screen or speaker in the subject's vicinity. This can include devices which are not susceptible to SCP-3214 delivery under other circumstances, and need not be connected to the internet. | A subject being escorted from the testing chamber passed by a closed-circuit television showing live feed from a security camera. SCP-3214 began to play in a corner of the screen. |
| 3-4 days | Impressions may be separated by two to three hours, and target the subject in moments of emotional vulnerability. | A subject had recently learned of their cellmate's death in an unrelated test on SCP-████. When security personnel arrived to escort the subject to the testing chamber, SCP-3214 began to play from the security officers' walkie-talkies. |
| 4-5 days | Impressions revert to appearing only in normal ad frames. Titles begin to include threats to the subject or their loved ones if it is not viewed. | "Click To Prevent ████'s Horrifying Death" (████ was the subject's nephew, later confirmed to be unharmed) "Watch Now Or FACE The Consequences" (the word FACE was periodically replaced with a stylized graphic of teeth clamping shut). |
Device damaged by an instance of SCP-3214-1
Symptoms: Once infected, SCP-3214-1 consumes the device on which they viewed SCP-3214. Whenever SCP-3214-1 is within one to two meters of another susceptible device, they will consume it as well, unless forcibly prevented from doing so. Each time such an additional device is consumed by SCP-3214-1, SCP-3214 impressions will be delivered to all susceptible devices in a 30 meter radius. This can result in the rapid and potentially exponential spread of SCP-3214.
Consumption of electronic devices results in severe lacerations of the mouth, esophagus and digestive tract. Subjects injured in this way refuse to acknowledge distress and invariably describe their condition in positive terms.7 Unless prompt medical care is administered, SCP-3214-1 typically expire within one to three days, either as a direct result of their injuries or from related non-anomalous bacterial infection. The compulsion to eat devices has persisted in all known instances, though some subjects can learn to resist it over time.
Video description: Recordings of SCP-3214 show a blank screen with a circular "loading" image, and a sound similar to a dial-up modem connecting to the internet. Thus a more detailed description of SCP-3214 has been summarized from interviews with individuals infected by the anomaly. Although written descriptions of SCP-3214 have not demonstrated cognitohazardous properties, access is currently restricted as a precaution. Access is authorized for personnel of level 2 and above, researchers directly involved in SCP-3214 experimentation, and agents deployed in response to SCP-3214 outbreaks.