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BT readies for next stage of Phorm
Tuesday 16th December 2008, by Daniel King
BT has announced that it has concluded its Phorm trial and is now preparing to enter the next stage of development.
Phorm's system works with internet service providers (ISPs) to monitor the websites visited by subscribers.
This information is then used to create targeted marketing campaigns based on the browsing habits of users.
The subject has raised concerns among many privacy advocates and a number of ISPs abandoned the system.
Among those who chose not to use Phorm were Tiscali and Orange, but Virgin Media and TalkTalk both embraced the system on an opt-in basis.
Phorm said: "Phorm, the advertising technology company, is pleased to announce that the trial with ISP partner BT has now concluded.
"The trial achieved its primary objective of testing all the elements necessary for a larger deployment, including the serving of small volumes of targeted advertising."
The company added that now trials have been completed, BT has informed Phorm that it is expecting to move towards deployment.
Privacy issues have led to criticism of Phorm, particularly as the early BT trials were conducted without the knowledge of users.
This was described by Thomas Newton of Broadband Finder as "legally dubious".
He noted that most people do not want their browsing histories to be viewed by anyone without their consent.
Mr Newton likened the problems surrounding online privacy to those faced by biometric ID cards and plans for a central government database.
The expert added that the privacy concerns had been exacerbated this year by the failure of HM Revenue and Customs to protect the identities of millions of UK citizens.
Categories: Broadband, Broadband Products, BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media
