Virgin Media Phorm Webwise Adverts [Updated: See Post No. 1, 77, 102 & 797]

[dav]

...and to PhormUKPRteam, please pass on our warmest regards to Kent.

EDIT: Ooops, I forgot the

[AlexanderHanff]

Originally Posted by popper

click! , hence my post about the times for next saturdays morning show above.

its the short version first so it may appear there or if not , then it should appear on the full show later in the day.

but i suspect it will be prime news, and so be in all the shows and edits.

i hope its not just more of the same "its a cookie thing"..... as seen in the last few days though, remember its a "Broken Laws thing" not mearly an obscure to the average users "cookie" thing.

we dont know what they intend covering alongside the Alexander report and so we cant really know how the director will edit it to suit the tech angle of the program.

did you hang around Alexander and walk and talk with the IT show floor attendee's?, any juicy Tech bits

I wanted too but I couldn't stand. I have blisters and sores all over my feet after walking about 1.5 miles in dress shoes. I can barely walk today.

Alexander Hanff

[Florence]

Posted the click info on ISPreview for the members to see.

Regards to Kent for proving we are right with is attitude to Alexander, can't trust him won't trust him and if VM, BT and talktalk do they will be losing money soon..

[SimonHickling]

The postie has just delivered a response from my MP (lab), which includes a copy of the standard BT handout regarding Phorm, but also a copy of the early day motion web-site to show that she has signed it. A mixed bag, but also an offer to follow up if I'd like her to. Reviewing the EDM site I see there are a number of Labour MPs on there.

Just looked again at the BT waffle and it seems to be a Parliamentary special dated 4th April 2008 - the title is "BT and Phorm" and it is a "BT Public Affairs Briefing Note" It has the usual DPA stuff on there.

[AlexanderHanff]

Just for the record I think the interview/debate is in next week's Click not this week but it might be worth someone recording this week just in case I have my wires crossed.

Alexander Hanff

[SimonHickling]

I've just rung the contact number on the bottom of the sheet and the named person was not available, but I left a message with a very helpful, polite colleague for them to ring back, and when I mentioned what it was regarding, was told that they'd heard a lot about this recently. Maybe the message is getting to the right ears.

[Florence]

Originally Posted by SimonHickling

The postie has just delivered a response from my MP (lab), which includes a copy of the standard BT handout regarding Phorm, but also a copy of the early day motion web-site to show that she has signed it. A mixed bag, but also an offer to follow up if I'd like her to. Reviewing the EDM site I see there are a number of Labour MPs on there.

Just looked again at the BT waffle and it seems to be a Parliamentary special dated 4th April 2008 - the title is "BT and Phorm" and it is a "BT Public Affairs Briefing Note" It has the usual DPA stuff on there.

Bet the paper it is on is too hard to hang it in the lou

Sad that BT only see the £££ signs and not the content that they are not supposed to see since they are only carriers of out packets..

[3x2]

Alexander : You shouldn't be too hard on Kent - he's a man under pressure. [false sympathy face]

[AlexanderHanff]

PhormUKPRTeam,

You really should explain to your client (Kent) that it is not a good idea for him to try and play the PR role, especially when he has hired professionals to do the job for him. His behaviour in public makes your function in this whole sordid affair much more difficult.

Alexander Hanff

[Frank Rizzo]

Patricia Hewitt on Daily Politics now BBC2

It's not a Q&A session but you may want to mail

daily dot politics at bbc co uk

I have asked them to ask PH why BT have not been investigated by police or HO.

[Stuart]

OK.. So on the one side, we have a multi millionaire who stands to make millions more from the sale of targetted ads. Said millionaire intends to install equipment in the ISPs network that will cache (and apparently anonymise) the sites each user visits and serves them ads based upon the sites they visit.

Oddly, despite the company's assurances that they don't process any personally identifiable data outside the ISP's network, they have established data centres in at least one country that doesn't have a strong equivalent to our data protection act, and, indeed, doesn't have a good record on privacy.

In terms of evidence, all this company has so far offered is assurances from themselves (which I take with a pinch of sat due to both the profit motive and the company history) and consultants who, while they have excellent records in the field of privacy, are presumably not working for free, so will profit if the company succeeds.

On the other side of the debate we have someone who has given a lot ot time and made a lot of effort to fight the company owned by the multi millionaire, and who's only profit (AFAIK) is helping people not get spied upon.

Said multi millionaire apparently is unable to answer straight questions, preferring instead to get abusive.

The anti-phorm aliiance (which I count myself amongst) has so far a lot more conclusive evidence. It's not perfect, but it's a lot more than just vague assurances.

[SimonHickling]

I actually think that somebody at Phorm has had a good thinking head on for this.

Nothing they are doing is illegal (if what we've been told is true). All the illegality occurs before the "Phorm servers" get the data. Unless inciting a breach of RIPA is illegal, it is only the ISP which is guilty of interception, they are also the ones processing personal data to anonymise it.

No doubt the whole "Phorm system" is being very bad, but Kent and co. have palmed off the naughty bits to the ISPs.

The sheet I mentioned earlier includes a couple of choice phrases:

1. "No data is passed outside BT's network." Which made me wonder about the logs which have been mentioned.

2. [from the special web-page for the 10,000 invitees] -"At this point, those customers invited have three options: they can choose to switch on BT Webwise in effect 'opt-in', choose not to take part, or choose to find out more information." - emphasis mine.

[OldBear]

Originally Posted by SimonHickling

<snip>
Reviewing the EDM site I see there are a number of Labour MPs on there.
<snip>

For those who want to check if their MP has signed Don Foster's EDM, they can check the list of signatories here: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDe...52&SESSION=891.

I'm pleased to report that my MP's name is on there.

OB

[tdadyslexia]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Just keep on keeping on Alexander. You are doing a grand job and have my heartfelt thanks.

As regards Kent's remark I would expect any reasonable person to see it as an almighty example of him shooting himself in the foot by revealing what a petty, small minded individual he apparently is.

Here, Here, well done Alexander.

[popper]

btw Richard put up his slides of the PIA in a pdf
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rnc1/talks/080415-phorm.pdf