Quote:
Originally Posted by Kursk
Deleted (I bored myself  ). |
Yes, but before you deleted you made a good point. Most of the public, unless faced with simple facts and appropriate analogies to real life let their eyes glaze over when anything about computers is mentioned (I did detect a bit of that with Jacqui this evening). All they want to do is to use the Internet to do what they want to do. They don't want to - and shouldn't have to - know how it works. They
should be able to trust companies like BT to do that for them.
Getting our message over to the public is our challenge. We're right, but Phorm and their ISPs are relying on it being too difficult or too technical for most normal users to understand or get concerned about the issues.
My aim with inphormationdesk has always been to provide a place where non-technical people can come to learn about what is going on. In that spirit I offer a page I'm working on and would be very grateful if people here could provide feedback. Are these the right points? Are they expressed in the right way? Have I missed any arguments or are any superfluous? Have I been too technical? (probably - I'll be working on this as well) and so on.
1. Webwise/Phorm is Illegal
To carry out the kinds of communications interceptions needed by Phorm, either a warrant has to be obtained or the parties at both ends have to give their permission. This is covered by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. In addition the data has to be kept private and not misused. The Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 provide safeguards against this.
In the BT Trials in 2006 and 2007, consent was neither sought from nor granted by any of the tens of thousands of users affected. The trials flagrantly breached the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and also the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
The basic principles of Phorm have not changed since then. It involves snooping. Even with user opt-in, website owners will not have given consent for the pages they serve to be intercepted and read. And whether their data is really private or secure is questionable.
2. Webwise/Phorm intrudes on Privacy
Most of us have nothing to hide. But we wouldn’t want a little man following us around all day, watching where we went and what we bought in shops, following us while we played sports or went to the gym, sitting in the corner of the pub listening to us, inspecting our post as it came through the front door, making a note of what clothes we were putting on, reading our books and newspapers over our shoulders and recording where we were going on holiday.
And that’s just what Phorm say they do. They’ll also read all your web-based email unless it’s on one of their recognised webmail services. There will be little they don’t know. The may bundle it all up and assign you to a demographic segment. But that cookie on your PC discloses your likes and dislikes, and it could be used to work out who you are.
3. Webwise/Phorm makes the Internet less secure
Webwise/Phorm operates by adding four message redirects to the way your data is handled by your Internet Service Provider. Webwise/Phorm also forges cookies on your PC which look as though they have come from the websites you have accessed.
This presents opportunities for abuse from within Internet Service Providers and Phorm itself, and more alarmingly from external hackers and fraudsters. Internet Service Providers using Phorm will be much more vulnerable to cyber-terrorist attacks. Ideas on how to compromise Phorm-based systems are already appearing on the Web.
For this reason, if Webwise/Phorm goes ahead many technically-aware people are considering moving to Internet Service Providers which have committed to not intercepting web traffic in this way.
4. Webwise/Phorm may compromise the Internet’s integrity
In the BT Trials of Webwise/Phorm in 2007, messages from users to websites were actually altered by the Phorm system. Phorm offers the opportunity not just for tailoring the advertisements you see, but also what you see on the web.
While Phorm will only be used initially for tailoring advertisements, it opens up many opportunities for interference with the operation of the Internet. How will you know who you are communicating with when your message can be modified by your Internet Service Provider? How will you know that what you are reading on a website is what the website owner wants you to see, or what your ISP and Phorm want you to see?
An Internet which has integrity is essential to our freedom and essential to our economy. Webwise/Phorm puts this at risk.
5. Webwise/Phorm is being marketed dishonestly
Webwise is being presented primarily as providing greater protection from online fraud, with tailoring of advertising a secondary feature. Yet its primary purpose is to make advertising from participating websites more relevant.
Nowhere does BT state that equivalent protection from online fraud is standard with the latest free browsing software which more then 90% of UK users already have. Nor do they state that Webwise works by intercepting, reading and processing nearly everything users do on the Web.
If Webwise is such a good offer for users, why doesn’t BT focus on Webwise’s core purpose and loss of user privacy needed to achieve it?
6. Webwise/Phorm’s business model will be valueless within months
The UK’s Information Commissioner has stated that users must have expressly to opt in to Webwise/Phorm. If they are properly informed that everything they do will be read, it is likely that only a small proportion will opt in.
Even then, the Web’s big operators such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon and eBay will not let Phorm get a foothold. Within months, it is likely that much useful web traffic will be encrypted and so of no value to Phorm.