Wikipedia has joined online retailer
Amazon and other large online firms in rejecting Phorm's
Webwise service, which tracks users' activities and sends them
targeted advertising.
The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has requested
that all the domains under its control be excluded from scanning by
the Phorm Webwise system.
"We consider the scanning and profiling of our visitors'
behaviour by a third-party to be an infringement on their privacy,"
the Wikimedia foundation said in a
blog posting.
Amazon's decision to stop the intrusive online tracking service
from using the Amazon website could mark a turning point,
commentators said last week.
The Open Rights Group (ORG), which has called for Webwise to be
banned, has welcomed the response from the online industry.
"We would like to thank Wikipedia and Amazon for prioritising
their users' privacy and taking this stand. We hope Facebook, AOL,
Bebo, MSN, Google and others can follow their lead," said Jim
Killock, executive director of the ORG in a
blog posting.
Opposition from privacy groups has delayed full UK
implementation of the Phorm technology. Only a limited trial with
10,000 BT customers has been conducted in the UK.
Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse have also signed deals with
Phorm, but no trials have been announced.
At the end of March, Phorm announced plans to conduct the
largest trial of its controversial technology with its first
customer outside the UK.
The
deal with South Korean broadband provider KT will give Phorm
the opportunity to prove its technology on one of the world's most
advanced networks
The future of behavioural targeting technologies such as Phorm's
is uncertain in Europe, where officials could rule that consumer
profiling by advertisers breaches privacy laws.
Last week the European Commission (EC) began proceedings against
the UK over the use of Phorm.