Phorm - Internet privacy hits a new low
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:05 pm
Has anybody been reading about what Phorm (former 121Media) is up to in the U.K.?
Bad Phorm? U.K. ISPs to sell clickstream data to advertisers
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... isers.html
In a nutshell: since Phorm can't get people to install the adware/spyware on their computers, they're paying (read: bribing) several ISPs to let Phorm examine network traffic for targeted advertising purposes. All customers are automatically opted in; "opting out is as simple as blocking Phorm's cookie, and the company promises that no bandwidth throttling or other consequences will follow." Yeah, right....
At least one government advisory group has stated that Phorm's activity is illegal under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Others have threatened to sue their ISP and/or Phorm if this deal goes live.
Personally, I hope Phorm suffers a loud, nasty, public death, to discourage other companies from trying this same tactic in the future.
Bad Phorm? U.K. ISPs to sell clickstream data to advertisers
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... isers.html
In a nutshell: since Phorm can't get people to install the adware/spyware on their computers, they're paying (read: bribing) several ISPs to let Phorm examine network traffic for targeted advertising purposes. All customers are automatically opted in; "opting out is as simple as blocking Phorm's cookie, and the company promises that no bandwidth throttling or other consequences will follow." Yeah, right....
At least one government advisory group has stated that Phorm's activity is illegal under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Others have threatened to sue their ISP and/or Phorm if this deal goes live.
Personally, I hope Phorm suffers a loud, nasty, public death, to discourage other companies from trying this same tactic in the future.