BT and Phorm won't be prosecuted for invading privacy

IT LOOKS LIKE big business has won out over your privacy rights again, with BT and Phorm escaping prosecution for using sneaky software that gathered information from your web browser without you knowing.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there is insufficient evidence to prosecute BT and Phorm over the creation and use of software called Page Sense, which stored a cookie on the victim's computer and covertly gathered information about their Internet browsing habits. The software would enable web-based ads to target individual users.

The problem was that a trial of the technology was conducted unannounced against 18,000 customers. This earned the ire of privacy campaigners, who aren't happy with web tracking technology whether or not it has consent.

The CPS said, "At present, the available evidence is insufficient to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. In the vast majority of cases, we would only decide whether to prosecute after the investigation had been completed and after all the likely evidence had been reviewed."

"In rare cases, however, it may become clear prior to the collection and consideration of all the likely evidence that a prosecution would not be in the public interest."

"We would only take such a decision if we were satisfied that the broad extent of the criminality had been determined and that we could make a fully informed assessment of the public interest. This is such a case."

So what the CPS seems to be saying is that BT and Phorm were pretty guilty of what they've been accused of, but it thinks 'public interest' factors mean prosecution wouldn't be worth the time. Or something like that. 

The Open Rights Group is one of the main organisations battling for the rights of web users against the privacy invasions of Phorm and others, and it obviously was not happy that the company seems to have got off scott free.

Jim Killock, Open Rights Group executive director said, "There is a strong public interest in seeing a prosecution. We believe Phorm's system to be illegal in the EU. This again shows that this activity is not being adequately regulated."

Indeed. Any ordinary UK subject can expect to be prosecuted if they tap their neighbor's phone line or hack into their computer, so The INQUIRER wonders why BT and Phorm are getting a free pass. It smacks of excessive corporate privilege to us, and we don't like it. µ