[phormwatch]

Dear Lady Vadera,

I am very concerned about a statement you made in Parliament in
response to a question posed by Baroness Miller on July 22nd. *The
question posed and your answer was:

'Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:

* * * What advice have they issued to internet service providers about
(a) obtaining consent from, and (b) informing internet users and
website owners about, trials of new technologies that utilise deep
packet inspection or cookies or both. [HL4867]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Baroness Vadera): The Government have
not issued advice to the internet service providers (ISPs) on this
issue. It is the responsibility of the ISPs to reach a view on whether
any new service they provide is within the law.

The Government strongly support the use of technology that supports and
enhances, rather than hinders and intrudes upon, the privacy of users’
data. Both the Information Commissioner and the Home Office have
offered comments to internet users and ISPs on aspects of new services
aimed at targeted advertising.'

I sincerely hope that you did not have the company called 'Phorm' in
mind when replying to Baroness Miller.**I am aware that Kent Erturgrul,
CEO of Phorm has been meeting with Peers and Members of Parliament in
order to promote his company. *Unfortunately, I don't believe Mr.
Erturgrul to be an independent or trustworthy source of analysis of the
merits or demerits Phorm's adware technology. *

I would like you remind your Lordship that several independent bodies
and technical experts (The FIPR, Richard Clayton, The Open Rights
Group, and Tim Berners-Lee - among others) have raised serious concerns
about privacy and security issues with the use of Phorm's technology.

While I agree that it is the responsibility of ISPs to ensure they are
within the law, it is the responsibility of the government and state to
enforce the law. *Reassurances that certain behaviour does not break
the law from an ISP should carry as much merit as reassurances from
anyone else accused of committing a crime; the reassurance itself
should not suffice to dismiss the charges.

I do hope that the government intends to take the issue of data
protection and privacy more seriously.**A public loss of confidence in
data protection and privacy would have dramatic negative effects on UK
democracy, commerce, and internet freedom.

Yours sincerely,

-phormwatch