Originally Posted by gnilddif (Post 34560127)

Re the BT Contact link on the BT Webwise page:

Back in early March I asked a question of BT Webwise using this link - it must have been the http://www.webwise.bt.com/webwise/contact.php
page. It took someone a while to reply, but here it is, received on March 13 2008:

<quote, with personal details edited out>
Dear Mr. (My surname)

Thank your for your email and apology in delay in responding.

I can confirm that on the 14 Feb BT, Talk Talk and Virgin Media all
confirmed that we had entered in to agreements with Phorm, enabling us
to offer to our customers a new free internet feature called Webwise.
Webwise provides an additional level of protection against malicious
websites and ensures fewer irrelevant adverts. In essence a safer and
more relevant browsing experience. Prior to the announcement BT
thoroughly researched Webwise and was encouraged by the very positive
consumer response to the service.

Clearly our customer's privacy is extremely important to us. Information
on users browsing is completely anonymous, it doesn't gather personally
identifiable information, doesn't store URL's, IP addresses or retain
browsing histories and the raw data used is deleted in real time - by
the time the page loads. Webwise does not scan webmail pages so your
emails on Gmail, Yahoo mail or Hotmail are not scanned. Secure pages
like your banking websites and web forms like any online registration or
sign-up forms are not scanned. No personal information often contained
in form fields is therefore ever captured by the system. No data is
passed outside of BT's network. Webwise privacy standards have been
verified by external auditor Ernst & Young, Of course BT, TalkTalk and
Virgin Media have all completed appropriate due diligence on Phorm, we
also understand that other ISP's both in and outside of the UK are
currently talking to them.

BT expects to begin technical trials of the BT Webwise service shortly.
We will be inviting around 10,000 BT broadband Consumer customers to
take part in the trial. The trial invitation will be presented through a
special web page that will appear when those customers start a web
browsing session. At this point, those customers invited can choose to
opt in, opt out or to find out more information. Customers choosing not
to take part will not be profiled. The www.bt.com/webwise site also
contains detailed information on the service and a one-click option to
switch the service off, which can be activated at any point during the
trial. The BT Privacy Policy and BT Total Broadband Service Terms will
be amended accordingly.

Opting out means that no browsing data whatsoever is processed. Opting
in and out of BT Webwise is extremely easy and completely transparent.
Standard opt out method does depend on a cookie remaining on your
machine indicating that you have opted out. If you delete your cookies
regularly, you will have to opt-out again each time you start a browsing
session. But for those who delete cookies regularly and want to remain
opted out, you can block cookies from the domain www.webwise.net on each
browser you use. When you block this domain, the service will opt you
out permanently.

I hope that this response allays the concerns that you have expressed.
Please note that BT Webwise service will not be available for BT Retail
Business customers.

-----Original Message-----
From: marketing@phorm.com [mailto:marketing@phorm.com]
Sent: 05 March 2008 19:24
To: marketing@phorm.com
Subject: BT.webwise.com Contact Request

*** This email came from a bt.webwise.com contact submission on Wed 5
Mar 14:23:34 EST 2008. ***

Title: Mr
First name: (My real first name)
Last name: (My real surname)
ISP: BT
Email: (my primary bt emailATbtopenworld.com)
Phone:
User type: Unknown User

Questions or comments:
I wish to ensure that no browsing history whatsoever is available to
your insidious snooping. Is www.oix.net the only URL that I must set
cookie-controls to reject?

</quote>

After you've had a good laugh at the atrocious grammar, punctuation and wonky syntax, have a think about the following:
1. No personal named signatory, as is normal, in my experience, from BT.
2. No BT department contained in the signature information, as is normal from BT.
2. A post to a BT department/organisation receives a reply mentioning other ISPs that are irrelevant to the subject matter.
3. The significance of the lines after and including marketingATphorm.com.
4. The date stamp - EST.

The evidence tells me that BT have passed my personal details to a third party that is outside the UK - phorm - specifically, my real name, my ISP and my primary BT email address. If I had inserted my phone number in the appropriate field, then they'd have that too.

But I may be wrong, so I'd be interested in any comments. I know the phorm issue can get get blood boiling, so carefully considered and unemotive please :) Is this a clear case of an offence under RIPA?

gnilddif

Originally Posted by popper (Post 34560562)

missed it and there isnt any video online about it....

what did it cover, its clear that they covered Phorm, how long was the segment?.

its clear the researchers or the web page designers didnt cover much, as the one and only gadgetshow page is this, and there is nothing relating to the Anti-Phorm and the Phormettes side of the story.

they couldnt even enter the url right for that "privacy laws and business" link.

they do link to the US based Phishing "web wise" url though from there....

http://gadgetshow.five.tv/jsp/5gsmai...ction=Features


there doesnt seem to be anything on the youtube as regards todays section eather!

Originally Posted by R Jones (Post 34560589)

Are you sending that correspondence as it stands, to the ICO? If it was an email I had received I would certainly do that wth a copy sent to the BT Data Controller, and the BT Retail legal people.
Unfortunately the contact.php page on webwise.bt.com is no longer working - submissions do not actually get made - as I was going to try and make an enquiry myself and see what happened.

Originally Posted by mark777

EDIT : I see icsys beat me to it.

Originally Posted by icsys (Post 34560608)

But your transcript is much better ;)

I wish I had known in advance of the program, I would have recorded it!

Originally Posted by 3x2 (Post 34551657)

The whole report was filled with wild optimism from start to finish but you really had to wonder about the international 'assumptions'. "France in Q1/10" anyone told the French yet?? 'Non' is a phrase that comes to mind.

Originally Posted by gnilddif (Post 34560607)

Ah, you shouldn't have forewarned them ;) I get the feeling that quite a few BT staff haven't had a very relaxing Bank Holiday. Anyway, I had just started to prepare a report to the ICO, and will follow your suggestion of copying to the other two. Thanks R.

g

Originally Posted by mark777 (Post 34560606)

snip...

Cut to BT Emma. Trials start soon etc. Interestingly, same stutter when talking about legal advice as on C4 and BBC interviews.

Originally Posted by icsys (Post 34560613)

Last weeks viewing figures for THE GADGET SHOW (MON 1959) 0.92 Million

If just half that number google phorm it would help the cause tremendously.

Originally Posted by NTLVictim (Post 34560694)

If it's the same stutter in the same place, it's deception...I smell a large rodent.

Was it exactly in the same place and with the same choice of words?

Originally Posted by mark777 (Post 34560740)

BT Emma's bit in full.

"We have signed an agreement with Phorm and we will be shortly trialling this new webwise feature with about 10,000 of our broadband customers. Any future plans are really dependent upon that trial. It will be completely optional so ultimately our customers will decide whether they want this new free feature or not and that BT has, as i'm sure have the other ISP's involved, done appropriate due diligence and sought extensive legal advice on this iss .. on this particular area."

There were lots of errs and umms. It looks like she was going to say advice on this issue, but changed it to particular area. To my mind, 'issue' would apply to the whole phorm issue. 'Particular area' leaves wriggle room. What particular area?

It would be nit picking, but the words appear to be well chosen, here and in other interviews. I don't think we can read too much into it, but it might be an indicator what BT execs are worried about.

This one looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. :)