Contentious Web-tracking application declared illegal

by Stevie Smith - Mar 20 2008, 14:15

Concerns aired this week by Internet creator Tim Berners-Lee regarding online browsing privacy and the potential damage of Web-tracker advertising applications have now shifted further into the spotlight of negativity.

Phorm, which is one such system currently being pondered by leading UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs), has been condemned as illegal by the Foundation for Information Policy Research (Fipr).

According to Fipr, Phorm’s targeting of users with specific personalised adverts based on their browsing history and online habits violates the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, which is meant to prevent unlawful access to personal user information.

Phorm and prospective application carrier BT have both insisted that the Web tracker does not contravene the Act in question or any other UK laws, while other deliberating ISPs such as Talk Talk and Virgin have not yet issued comment regarding Fipr’s accusation.

“The Phorm system is highly intrusive; it's like the Post Office opening all my letters to see what I'm interested in, merely so that I can be sent a better class of junk mail,” explained Fipr treasurer Richard Clayton in a BBC report. “Not surprisingly, when you look closely, this activity turns out to be illegal.”

Fipr has subsequently dispatched an open letter to Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, in which the organisation claims that Phorm must secure the consent of Web site operators as well as individual Web users prior to its implementation.

Leading Internet Service Provider BT has outlined that, when it comes to Phorm, it will consider “an implied consent from website owners,” has been given as long as the Web user has agreed to provide consent to the service. BT also insists that secure and password-protected content “will not be scanned, profiled or stored” by Phorm.

Phorm claims it is “not breaching any laws” by using the content of any given Web site that has been published both openly and fairly, while also noting that Phorm does not store personal data, has a dedicated “on-off switch,” and would not be incorporated through sites actively discouraging Web crawling from search engines.

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