Month: July 2009

ARS Technica reports that British Telecom the UK’s largest ISP have decided not to roll out the controversial Phorm system of targeted marketing.

In April of this year, however, the EC decided to open an infringement proceeding against Phorm and urged the UK to reform its privacy laws.

That brings us to today, with BT announcing that it remains interested in the technology but that it wants to allocate resources to “developing next-generation broadband and television services in the UK.”

Digital rights groups are pleased with the news. The Open Rights Group described the move as “the right decision for BT and other online providers who respect privacy,” and urged other UK ISPs to follow BT’s lead in dropping Phorm. Another group, No Deep Packet Inspection, said that “Phorm’s House of Cards is falling” as the company’s stock continues to drop following the BT announcement.

BT’s association with Phorm was one of the reasons that I decided to take my business elsewhere and sign up with a different Internet Service Provider.