Phorm to Hit the Red Tape

After Phorm’s town hall meeting last week, things seemed to be going well for the BT supplier of behavioural marketing, however the light might not be green after all:

 

The European Commission has started legal action against Britain over the online advertising technology Phorm. It follows complaints to the EC over how the behavioural advertising service was tested on BT’s broadband network without the consent of users. (via the BBC)

Concern has carried on since the initial trial (see: BT in Trouble or Just a Phorm in a Tea Cup?). However, the EU is obviously looking at this more carefully now:

 

“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,” the EU’s Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said in a statement.

She added: “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 the EU rules on the confidentiality of communications.”

 

For those not familiar, Phorm operates with an opt-out rather than an opt-in policy (like Google’s Street View). These “assume everyone is OK with it” policies are coming under scrutiny as network and application monitoring provides greater visibility into user’s personal data. Something for marketers and IT managers a-like to watch. There is more background in a piece on The Register. , which gives context on the ePrivacy Directive which came into force in 2003.