UK mobile phone firms stand by NOTW

THE UK IS IN UPROAR about accusations that the Sunday red top boob rag News of the World (NOTW) hacked thousands of mobile phone accounts, but that hasn't stopped the apparently hacked companies from sticking their advertisements in the disgraced tabloid.

While many firms and organisations have come out with statements saying they are disgusted with the alleged activities at the newspaper and will not be advertising in it henceforth, others have not but have instead decided to ignore the public outcry and keep throwing money at it.

That would be almost alright, in some sort of hard-hearted parallel universe, if they were not precisely the same firms whose systems were hacked and their contents splashed across its pages.

Vodafone, for example, which is a large mobile phone provider in the UK, is still reviewing the situation while still advertising in the NOTW, and so are Tesco Mobile, Orange, Three and T-Mobile.

The Political Scrapbook web site is closely following the situation and has the above companies pegged as dithering in various stages of consideration. Vodafone, for example, is "monitoring developments closely", and T-Mobile, in a statement made to the Telegraph said, "We're currently reviewing our advertising position with News of the World, following the recent allegations, and await the outcome of the ongoing police investigation."

Some other firms are sticking to their guns though, and have so far committed to staying with the paper as advertisers. These include BSkyB, Tesco, Virgin Media and Brand Alley, according to Political Scrapbook. µ