Police halt Phorm investigation

Phorm, the ad-tracking firm, and BT will not be investigated further by police for 'secret' trials conducted last year.

Controversy has raged among privacy campaigners after it was revealed that BT used technology from Phorm, which directs adverts to surfers based on what internet sites they visit, without telling customers.

Police from the City of London informally questioned BT executives earlier this month, according to reports.

However, a decision was made to not formally investigate BT as it would be "inappropriate for Police to use public funds to pursue civil issues where there is no suggestion that criminal intent exists".

In an email sent to anti-Phorm campaigner Alexander Hanff, it was revealed that one of the main reasons to drop the investigation was down to the lack of criminal intent on behalf of BT and Phorm.

The email, from detective sargeant Barry Murray, goes on to say: "It is also believed that there would have been a level of implied consent from BT's customers in relation to the tests, as the aim was to enhance their products."

Hanff told Web User in August that if Phorm is permitted to sidestep the law "we will soon be flooded with similar companies and technologies and people's personal data will be compromised".

Hanff says he is now "considering filing for a Judicial Review of City of London Police in relation to their handling of the criminal complaint against BT Group and Phorm".

He has set up a poll on his website asking people to state if they would be willing to donate to financing the Judicial Review.

Three of the UK's major ISPs - BT, Virgin Media and The Carphone Warehouse - are expected to roll out Phorm technology over the next coming months.

Phorm admitted earlier this month that there had been delays in deploying its web-monitoring technology; it is not known if this was because of the police investigation.

The conclusion from the City of London Police conflicts with that of the Foundation for Information Policy Research which criticised Phorm for being "highly intrusive" and "illegal".

www.phorm.com
https://nodpi.org
www.fipr.org