Hank

Today, getting ready for a trip away from Blighty I was sorting through papers and there it was, a letter acknowledging my new contract with BT. And joy of joys, 12 months old

So on the phone I go, to ask what the deals are (but, more importantly, before I agree to any new contact term, what's the deal with Phorm and Webwise)...

I explained that before I renew any contract I would like to know if they are going to implement Phorm and Webwise. The BT employee I spoke with did not know what Phorm or Webwise was.

He asked what it was so I told him. I said it is where BT put a system in their network which watches what I and my family do on our internet connection so they can sell advertising for a higher price, knowing what I am interested in.

I loved the next bit... He said, I quote: "That sounds illegal"
His supervisor also knew nothing about it.

BT employee thinks that interception of broadband connections by an ISP is illegal

So, it is interesting isn't it (or unsurprising?) that BT empoloyees here in the UK know nothing about Phorm/Webwise. If I was responsible for internal communication at BT then I would probably want to keep it quiet also.

However, if I was a BT employee I would be really hacked off by this. Their own company not trusting them to know what they are doing. Or does BT know that even their own people would find the prospect of DPI as distasteful as we all do here? Especially if their call centre employees draw the conclusion that interception of customer data on their private connections is illegal.

All I can say is, sorry Barry at BT and your supervisor. It's not nice to know you work for a company who you think is probably doing something illegal.

Perhaps I should have also told him that BT er, erm, "sought extensive legal advice" ("sought it" not necessarily "got it" - and if they got it, we don't know what it said)

How do we get to let the employees at BT know about Phorm Webwise and BT's plans? How about standing outside the HQ/Telesales offices and handing them a copy of the BT leaflet PDF? There's nothing illegal about doing that and it would raise the profile high enough to require BT to brief their employees. Done well, without intimidation, in a very civil manner, this could be exactly what is needed.

No, I have not received the 24 hour warning (is that like the 4 minute warning ahead of nuclear war? )

Hank

(PS - Alexander: Adwords voucher PM'd to you today)