- Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet - WIlliam Gibson
EU questions UK on ISP spyware
OUR FAVOURITE POLITICIAN Viviane Reding is making herself unpopular in the hallowed halls of Westminster once again.
The tech crusader who famously forced greedy mobile telcos to cut extortionate data roaming charges, has given the UK Government until next month to fess up about the use of Phorm, a sneaky bit of spyware which tracks internet usage under the guise of an advertising targeting system.
Three UK ISPs have admitted to using the system without alerting Web Wibblers to the fact that they are being watched from afar. And it is the legality of this non-disclosure which is being brought into question.
BT is planning to begin a large-scale trial of the service soon, but revelations that a smaller experiment has already been conducted without the consent of subscribers has led to calls for the telco giant to be prosecuted.
A letter from Mrs Reding, the contents of which have not been disclosed, is reported by the BBC to demand that ministers clarify whether the use of Phorm contravenes European data laws.
A petition on the Downing Street Website has attracted 16,000 signatures demanding that the system be outlawed.
The City of London Police are currently conducting their own investigation into Phorm, following complaints against BT. ยต
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yayyyyyyyyyyyy, up and at um viv, get the slimeware orwellian barstewards :O)
One half cut night I had typed obscenities into the address bar of IE, whilst waiting to speak on the phone to cable modem tech support, and the technician had read the unformatted expletives, even though it appeared that there was no internet connection.
Anybody who still is a victim/customer of BT or any other ISP which does or will use Phorm DESERVES Phorm. Besides, who in the UK still questions that Phorm IS illegal?

Mrs. Reding has more guts than all the pussies in the European Parliament together!

Thanks to The Inquirer for constantly kicking BT's you-know-what.
VM phoned regarding Phorm, spit. I had emailed them with questions. The gist of our conversation was
VM are not trialling Phorm.
It is according to the rep I spoke to more a case of IF than WHEN
it will be many months before a decision is made 
I told them they would be forever tarnished by this especially if it went titsup . The answer was "Yes mud sticks"
Is this the start of a pull out or are they waiting for Phorm to die naturally so it doesnt cost them anything?