Quote:
Originally Posted by phormwatch
I can't imagine he's very happy with Phorm or BT right now at all...
---------- Post added at 01:20 ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 ----------
This just in... post from a friend on another talkboard:
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"A second Euro MP [Labour] has contacted me. He's written to the UK Information Commisioner to say that it's his opinion that Unless citizens go out of their way to sign up to Phorm, then it is my opinion that Phorm is performing illegal activities and will be challenged by the European Court.
He reminds Richard Thomas of: Directive 95/46/EC on Data Protection, which specifically states that “Member States shall provide that personal data may be processed only if: (a) the data subject has unambiguously given his consent.”
And that this quite clearly suggests that no personal data may be processed unless a citizen has given their consent, rather than “opting out” as that assumes consent has already been given, when it has not.
He seems a lot more aware than most other MPs on IT and privacy issues."
The MP is:
Richard Corbett - Labour Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire & Humber.
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that sounds helpful - I think Mr Corbett is one of the less "spinnable" Labour MP's and certainly familiar with being outspoken in disagreement with his whips.
---------- Post added at 10:26 ---------- Previous post was at 09:59 ----------
An update on the Philip Stafford FT article. Although I didn't ever get a reply to my online complaint about the inaccuracy of this article, (anyone else?) I see that the article has had yet another correction.
If you remember the original had several faults and was quickly corrected in one respect when presumably the VM and CPW people pointed out that they had NOT conducted trials. But there was still a claim that other UK ISP's had conducted trials apart from BT. That was what I wrote in about to FT, and reminded them that in view of their alleged connection OIX they needed to make sure they weren't influencing Phorm's share price with inaccurate reporting or else the regulator might be interested.
And I see the article has now been corrected again - here's the comparison
Mark 1 version included this:
"BT will begin further trials in the next few weeks of a controversial advertising technology that it hopes will give it a slice of the lucrative online advertising market.
The group is one of three UK internet service providers which have conducted trials of technology developed by Phorm, an Aim-listed company, which tracks the web-surfing habits of its internet users to enable it to target advertising more tightly.
Carphone Warehouse’s Talk Talk and Virgin Media have also run trials."
Then they produced Mark 2 which altered the final sentence above to read:
"Carphone Warehouse’s Talk Talk and Virgin Media have also agreed to evaluate the service but are yet to run trials."
the current version (Mark 3?) has instead:
BT will begin further trials in the next few weeks of a controversial advertising technology that it hopes will give it a slice of the lucrative online advertising market.
The group has conducted trials of technology developed by Phorm, an Aim-listed company, which tracks the web-surfing habits of its internet users to enable it to target advertising more tightly.
Carphone Warehouse’s Talk Talk and Virgin Media have also agreed to evaluate the service but are yet to run trials.
So thank you FT. And remember - it's always worth complaining!!
So - the only people still in the frame for having conducted trials are BT.
VM Webwise page states unequivocally that they have NOT tested the technology.
The relative ease with which we were able to get the FT article corrected suggests that maybe, just maybe, there is a little more corporate nervousness around than there was a few months ago.
The FT may have been
UNinphormed,
and perhaps some were suspicious that it was
DEphormed, (OIX)
but after they got
INphormed, (complaints)
we saw evidence that at least that article got
REphormed.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/34c59420-5...nclick_check=1
Folks just keep adding up the situations where you are seeing a gradual shift in perception - be encouraged. People - opinion formers, enforcers, legislators and ordinary members of the public ARE slowly getting the picture. So keep it simple, keep it coming, and keep going.
And a hello to any BT execs reading this. It's my "voracious appetite for detail" you see. I think YOU need a few people with a voracious appetite for detail too - like people who can read statutes carefully?
Watching you watching us. Best wishes.