Government reacts to Phorm

Controversial new advertising technology Phorm must be easy to opt out from, the Government has said.

Sign the Phorm petition at Number 10.gov.uk

Responding to questions from the European Union, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) said: "Users will be presented with an unavoidable statement about the product and asked to exercise choice about whether to be involved."

"Users will be 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," BERR continued.

Phorm, which monitors individuals' web use to produce better-targeted adverts, has been making headlines since it was revealed that BT had trialled the system without the consent of users.

But according to BERR, Phorm's legality derives from its use of unique IDs, rather than the identity of users, and the fact that it doesn't keep a record of sites visited.

Phorm will not be able to take a user ID and use it to identify a specific individual.

A BERR statement said: "After conducting its enquiries with Phorm the UK authorities consider that Phorm's products are capable of being operated in a lawful, appropriate and transparent fashion."

www.phorm.com
www.berr.gov.uk