BT threatened with legal action over online tracking

UK-- Telephone and internet provider BT has been threatened with legal action after being accused of tracking customers' browsing history without permission.

The company at the centre of the wrangle is Phorm, an advertising technology firm that has developed software that tracks the websites users visit and matches them to relevant advertisements.

Phorm has announced agreements with internet service providers BT, Talk Talk and Virgin Media to use the software.

But BT business customer Stephen Mainwaring has told the computing press that his company's bank details were put at risk when BT trialled Phorm's advertising tracking technology last year.

He said it was "likely" that he and other individuals would take legal action against BT following the trial, which he claimed was unlawful.

In a statement BT said: "We conducted a very small scale technical test of a prototype advertising platform on one exchange in June 2007. The test was specifically conducted to evaluate the functional and technical performance of the platform. Absolutely no personally identifiable information was processed, stored or disclosed during this trial."

The legal threat coincides with the internet's creator, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, telling the BBC his concerns over tracking and that he would "change his service provider if it introduced such a system."

However, for BT customers at least, there is an option to opt out of the service if they feel their privacy has been threatened.

An online petition has been set up requesting Prime Minister Gordon Brown to "investigate the Phorm technology and if found to breach UK or European privacy laws then ban all ISPs from adopting its use".

The petition has been signed by more than 5,000 people since its launch at the beginning of the year.

Author: James Verrinder