BT, Webwise and Phorm: A question of trust
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Would you allow your post to be opened to improve the quality of junk
mail you
receive?
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That’s the kind of thing BT want to do with your Internet connection.
They are partnering with a company called Phorm to intercept, read and
analyse your web browsing so that they can use that information to choose
which advertisements to show you. BT are calling this scheme “Webwise”.
Surely this can’t happen?
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It’s already happening. Since October 2008 BT have been interrupting
selected home broadband users’ web browsing and proposing Webwise to them
as part of a trial of the scheme. This follows earlier trials in 2006
and again in 2007 when they intercepted and read Internet activity from
tens of thousands of their broadband users, without ever asking for their
consent.
How does it work?
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If you say yes to the Webwise invitation, an identifier is placed on your
computer. Webwise associates this with groups of interests which
correspond to advertising campaigns. BT and Phorm claim that this
information about you is anonymous.
If you say no to the Webwise invitation, Webwise writes a file to your
computer to indicate that you have opted out. But everything you do on
the web still passes through their interception equipment.
What are the risks?
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You have to trust that BT will keep all personally identifiable
information – names, addresses, postcodes, detailed interests – secure.
Yet for several months to October 2008, BT Forums leaked names and email
addresses of BT account holders who weren’t even active forum users.
You have to trust Phorm’s systems to work in the way they have promised.
Yet Phorm were formerly known as 121media, and their products were
blacklisted by at least three anti-virus companies.
You have to trust that BT will only intercept and read your web activity
in the way they have promised. Yet a month into the current trial, a
Webwise invitation was issued to a PlusNet user, even though BT had
stated that PlusNet was excluded from the trial.
You have to trust BT that they will not use the equipment which intercepts
your web activity to change data that you send to websites. Yet during
trials of the technology in 2006, data was altered between users and the
websites they were visiting.
Who loses out?
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If you accept BT’s Webwise invitation . . .
BT’s Webwise invitation web page does not tell you that if you say “yes”
then almost everything you do on the Internet from then on will be
intercepted and read. Nor do BT check if it’s you, one of your children,
or a visitor who has given consent. And once opted in, even your
children using the Internet for their homework may have their data read
and profiled.
If you refuse BT’s Webwise invitation . . .
Everything you do on the Web will still pass through the equipment to be
used for intercepting and reading the activity of users who decide to opt
into the trial. This increases risks to the privacy, security and
integrity of your web activity.
If you run a website . . .
Everything on your website, together with private communications with your
users, may be exploited to profile and identify your visitors. This will
be used to promote your competitors’ products. You will not be paid a
licence or royalty fee. BT say that exploiting material in this way is
covered by implied consent, and that putting a notice on a website is not
sufficient to overturn that implied licence.
Can they really do this ?
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In the US, Congress has halted the deployment of all similar schemes and
a class action has started against the Internet Service Providers who
trialled them.
In the EU, the Commission is currently investigating why the UK
Government does not appear to be enforcing communications privacy laws.
In the UK, the senior vice-president of Orange’s online advertising
division says “Privacy is in our DNA, so we need to be honest and clear
about what we are doing. We have decided not to be in Phorm because of
that...”
And the chief executive of Virgin Media has said that “Our next initiative
probably won’t be with the Phorms of the world.” Yet BT are persisting
with their Webwise trial.
What can I do?
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If you are a BT home broadband user, write to BT and complain:
Mr Ian Livingston,
BT Chief Executive,
81 Newgate Street,
London, EC1A 7AJ.
If you want advice on moving from BT, visit www.getmymaccode.com.
Visit your MP at a local surgery and ask them to make their
opposition to BT Webwise and Phorm public and unequivocal.
Sign the 10 Downing Street petition
at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ispphorm/
And please tell your friends.
For more information:
www.inphormationdesk.org, www.badphorm.co.uk and www.nodpi.org
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