Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaJack
I have a question too, before I leave BT what should I do if in the unlikely event I am invited to participate in the Webwise trial. I understand from previous posts that even if I opt out, far from my details staying within the BT network they might actually pass through some site in the US notorious for hosting phishing adware. How is this going to affect my internet use. It's almost like a Catch 22 situation, opt in and Phorm get all your personal details opt out and Phorm still get all your details. Or is this too simplistic?
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In Phorm’s original description, their system did indeed mirror the web traffic of all users. We were later told that the system had been modified, so that only the web traffic of those users who had opted-in would be copied and processed. It seems this was done to reduce the chance of legal challenge. However, given the inability of the government, police and the Information Commissioner’s Office to take action against BT over their covert trials, it’s difficult to know whether Phorm feel they are constrained by much of the interception and data protection legislation.
Ideally, you’d like to decline to take part in the trial. Unfortunately, as you say, BT are making you an offer you can’t refuse. If a trial starts in your area, you’ll be testing at least some part of the system designed and built by Phorm. The three options are:
- Choose to opt in at the invitation page. You’ll be testing most of the system. A Phorm-controlled computer, the Channel Server, will receive a stream of data consisting of your search terms and a good proportion of the web page addresses for the pages you look at. This could conceivably be used to reconstruct a large part of your web browsing. I would not recommend this option.
- Choose to opt out at the invitation page. You’ll be testing the part that monitors, copies and fakes cookies. You’ll be testing the part that prevents your browsing details from being passed on.
- Choose to block cookies from webwise.net. You’ll be testing the part designed to detect this and prevent never-ending loops. This is covered in the latest update by Richard Clayton to his technical description of the Phorm system, when Phorm suddenly remembered how this part of their system works. Again, you’ll be testing the part that prevents your browsing details from being passed on.
Given that we finally know how the blocking of webwise.net cookies will be detected, I would recommend option three as the least worst. There had been a risk that option three would have had a significant impact on your browsing experience, but now we know this shouldn’t be the case.
BT have promised a system that will allow a subscriber to completely remove their broadband connection from the Phorm system, but this will be available only after the trials. If a trial causes users significant problems, the subscriber will not be able to withdraw from it. Also, there’s a chance that this option will never be made available. For this reason, I recommend all BT customers do as you’re doing, by moving to a new ISP as soon as is practical.