BT (UK) ISP passing on your web habits to former spyware co.

[daglesj]

Folk,

Just so you can pass it on. There is a current kerfuffal regarding the top three ISPs in the UK setting up a new ad revenue system with a former adware/spyware firm called Phorm.

Essentially there is no real way you can opt out of the system as all your data gets monitored, you just dont get the ads. They state its totally annoymous but then how can you target ads back to folks if you dont set a link of some sorts. Its all rather sleazy really.

Anyway more info here -

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/17/bt_phorm_lies/

here -

http://www.badphorm.co.uk/page.php?2

and here -

http://www.beta.bt.com/bta/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=2612&start=0&tstart=0

[powerarmour]

Isn't that skimming pretty close to UK Data Protection/Privacy Law..?

Lucky that one of the larger tabloids hasn't decided to go on a crusade against this rubbish I guess...

[Screwy]

Don't Trust BT, about 6 years ago I got a Credit card, used it with only 1 company in total, namely BT, 3 days after arriving in Japan, 500 quid was taken from the card, got the money back but the grief, I believe it was BT. what a swizz

[powerarmour]

Phorm 'illegal' says policy group :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7301379.stm?lsm

[impar]

Greetings!

BT and Phorm secretly tracked 18,000 customers in 2006

BT secretly intercepted and profiled the web browsing of 18,000 of its broadband customers in 2006 using advertising technology provided by 121Media, the alleged spyware company that changed its name to Phorm last year.

BT Retail ran the "stealth" pilot without customer consent between 23 September and 6 October 2006. The technology was approved, pending a further trial*.

Documents seen by The Register show that the companies used the secret profiles to target advertising at broadband customers when they visited certain popular websites.

[impar]

Greetings!

U.S., UK ISPs Track Web Habits, Sell Data to Advertisers

Providers testing ways to use the goldmine of data locked away in their tubes

ISPs throughout the United States and UK are using deep packet inspection to track surfers’ online activities – search queries, web sites visited, and information entered, among other things – in order to sell gleamed data to advertisers interested in better targeting their advertisements.

The practice, largely swept under the rug “for fear of [a] customer revolt,” says one unnamed executive, currently targets about 10 percent of all internet customers in the United States. Front Porch, a U.S. advertiser that buys data from ISPs’ deep packet programs, says that it has detailed web-use data for more than 100,000 customers.

[impar]

Greetings!

Always fun:
Phorm admits 'over zealous' editing of Wikipedia article

Phorm has admitted that it deleted key factual parts of the Wikipedia article about the huge controversy fired by its advertising profiling deals with BT, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse.

The tracking and ad targeting firm said in an email: "We wanted to clarify a number of inaccuracies in the Wikipedia entry on Phorm."

[impar]

Greetings!

Charter Starts Selling Your Browsing History
Don't worry, it's all to bring you an 'enhanced online experience...'
...
While it's nice that Charter actually e-mailed their customers instead of burying the change in their terms of service like most ISPs, the e-mail still tries to push Charter's money grab as an "enhanced online experience."

[impar]

Greetings!

Phorm secretly tracked Americans too