Phorm fights back with new website
Phorm, the online behavioural targeting company, has launched a website “that hits back at the privacy pirates smear campaign” against its service.
The ‘StopPhoulPlay’ site aims to set out Phorm’s defence amid on-going opposition that the advertising targeting system invades users’ ePrivacy and data protection rights.
Phorm’s new site claims that “over the last year Phorm has been the subject of a smear campaign orchestrated by a small but dedicated band of online “privacy pirates” who appear very determined to harm our company”.
“Their energetic blogging and letter-writing campaigns, targeted at journalists, MPs, EU officials and regulators, distort the truth and misrepresent Phorm’s technology. We have decided to expose the smears and set out the true story, so that you can judge the facts for yourself,” explains the site.
StopPhoulPlay has picked out individual campaigners and publications, which it claims are “the main characters in the anti-Phorm campaign”, such as the Open Rights Group.
Last month, the Open Rights Group wrote to Microsoft, Google/Youtube, Facebook, AOL/Bebo, Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay urging them to opt-out of Phorm.
Weeks later, both Amazon and Wikipedia decided to block the online ad system from tracking users across their sites (see Wikipedia to block Phorm).
In a statement, Wikipedia said: “The Wikimedia Foundation requests that our websites, including Wikipedia.org and all related domains, be excluded from scanning by the Phorm / BT Webwise system, as we consider the scanning and profiling of our visitors’ behaviour by a third party to be an infringement on their privacy.”
Amazon UK also confirmed its position: “We have contacted Webwise requesting that we opt-out for all our domains.”
At the time, Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, said: “We expect more sites to block Webwise in the near future and also ISPs to drop plans to snoop on web users.”
According to Killock, other sites including LiveJournal, mySociety and Netmums have said confirmed that they will also be blocking Phorm’s technology.
Phorm’s system, which builds profiles of users by scanning keywords on websites they visit and then assigns relevant ads, came under fire in April last year when BT admitted that it had tested Phorm in 2006 and 2007 without informing customers involved in the trial.
BT went on to carry out a new invitation-based trial of the technology in October – December 2008, marketed as Webwise, and now Phorm hopes to roll out the service to BT users.
However, the European Commission has begun legal proceedings against the UK over Phorm’s ad system (see European Commission begins legal action on Phorm).
The Commission said that the “proceeding addresses several problems with the UK’s implementation of EU ePrivacy and personal data protection rules, under which EU countries must ensure… the confidentiality of communications by prohibiting interception and surveillance without the user’s consent”.
Viviane Reding, EU telecoms commissioner, said: “Technologies like internet behavioural advertising can be useful for businesses and consumers but they must be used in a way that complies with EU rules. These rules are there to protect the privacy of citizens and must be rigorously enforced by all member states.
“We have been following the Phorm case for some time and have concluded that there are problems in the way the UK has implemented parts of EU rules on the confidentiality of communications. I call on the UK authorities to change their national laws and ensure that national authorities are duly empowered and have proper sanctions at their disposal to enforce EU legislation on the confidentiality of communications.
“This should allow the UK to respond more vigorously to new challenges to ePrivacy and personal data protection such as those that have arisen in the Phorm case. It should also help reassure UK consumers about their privacy and data protection while surfing the internet.”