BT avoids police action over Phorm trials
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UK-- The City of London Police will not be taking action against BT for secretly trialling the controversial Phorm online ad targeting system on its customers.
The telecom and internet provider admitted earlier this year that it had conducted secret tests of the software, leading a disgruntled customer to take the matter to the police.
However, a City of London Police spokeswoman told Research: “After full, careful consideration of the information presented to the force, a decision has been taken not to launch a criminal investigation into this matter.”
Alex Hanff, who lodged the complaint, reacted angrily to the news. In an email correspondence with the police published on his website, Hanff said he “disagreed entirely” with the decision and would be seeking advice on whether a judicial review would be appropriate. He has since added a poll to his site asking users how much money they would be willing to donate to fund a review.
The news follows last week's announcement by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) that the Phorm system would be legal to operate in the UK provided it met a strict set of criteria.
Author: James Verrinder
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