BT has confirmed it will press ahead with testing
Phorm, a controversial online advertisement serving
application
The news came as the government outlined rules regarding Phorm's
legality and moral acceptability.
BT said it hoped the test, the first public trial after two
secret ones, would begin soon.
The telecoms company said its use of Phorm's software, which
profiles individuals according to their online searches and serves
advertisements based on their interests, would comply with the law
and with moral and ethical standards.
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
(BERR) yesterday disclosed part of a letter to the European
Commission which had earlier asked for clarification of the
legality of Phorm's use.
A BERR spokeswoman said the usage it described was "not a code
of conduct". "It's a way to use the system transparently and
responsibly," she said.
BERR told the EU, "The UK authorities are working to ensure that
if [Phorm] is introduced into the market for internet-based
advertising services, this is done in a lawful, appropriate and
transparent fashion."
It said Phorm's products were "capable" of doing this if users
knew that their searches would be stored and profiled, gave their
explicit consent, knew how to opt out and could do so at any
time.
The letter to the Commission added that a user profile should
have a random identity, that Phorm did not keep a record of sites
visited or search terms used, and that advertising categories and
other information could not be used to track back to users.
Phorm said in a statement, "The UK's government's position on
Phorm's technology reflects our common commitment to transparency
and superior standards of online privacy."
The software supplier said it had practised "privacy by design.
Our internet advertising and online fraud protection system stores
no personally identifiable information or browsing histories."
BERR said Phorm developments would be closely scrutinised and
monitored by enforcement authorities, including the Information
Commissioner's Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office,
and BERR itself.
BERR's view on how to make Phorm conform
• User profiling is done only with the knowledge and agreement
of the customer
• The profile is based on a randomly allocated unique ID, so
there is no need to know the identity of the individual users
• Phorm does not keep a record of sites visited
• Search terms entered by the user and the advertising
categories exclude sensitive terms and are widely drawn so as not
to reveal the identity of the user
• Phorm neither has nor wants information that would let it link
a user ID and profile to a living individual
• Users are presented with an unavoidable statement about the
product and asked to exercise a choice about whether to be
involved
• Users are able to easily access information on how to change
their mind at any point and are free to opt in or out of the
scheme.
BT to trial Phorm >>
User profiling under scrutiny >>