[Winston Smith]

Hi,

Will be sending this to Mr Branson tomorrow via registered mail, but would appreciate comments etc.

April 14, 2008

Sir Richard Branson
Virgin Management Limited
120 Campden Hill Road
London
W8 7AR



Dear Sir Richard,

I am driven to write to you in your capacity as a significant shareholder in the Virgin Media group and more-so one that can help direct its future path as an ethical and responsible company. I write this as we (the customers of this group) have been unsuccessful in achieving a satisfactory response to our concerns from the usual channels (Customer Service etc.). For a number of weeks now there has been a multitude of article and comment pieces on the internet and in traditional media regarding the proposed tie-up between the top three ISP’s and Phorm, a company specialising in targeted advertising.

Whilst, I personally have no objection to advertisements on the internet (after all they support many worthwhile sites, some of which I am member of) what I do object to is the invasion of my privacy that would result from this partnership.
From what I (and many others) understand of the nature of this relationship it would involve Phorm supplied equipment profiling my browsing history, in order to serve me targeted adverts. Again I have no issue with this provided regulatory statutes are met. What I (and many others) do have a problem with is twofold:

Firstly, the proposed system is opt-out – in breach of both UK and European law.

Secondly, even if I opt out my browsing history is still mirrored to the profiler, despite my explicit choice for this not to happen.

One of your competitors (Carphone Warehouse) has already stated that their system will ensure that a customer who has opted will not have their browsing passed to any of this equipment. I trust that the Virgin Group, a company known for its ethics and support for the individual would follow a similar path.

I remain yours sincerely

WinstonS