Now Wikimedia says no to Phorm scanning

UK-- The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and a host of other reference websites, has become the second major website owner this week to opt out of Phorm's targeted advertising technology.

Wikimedia gave Phorm a list of 83 domain names, including Wikipedia, which it does not want scanned and said “we consider the scanning and profiling of our visitors' behavior by a third party to be an infringement on their privacy”.

Online retail giant Amazon opted out of the Phorm system, which tracks the websites a user visits in order to match them with relevant ads, earlier this week.

Phorm said it has a policy in place for websites to opt out but does not comment on individual cases.

Meanwhile, Phorm has responded to the European Commission's decision to commence infringement proceedings against the UK government over the secret trials of its technology.

The firm said its software was “fully compliant” with the relevant UK and EU directives and does “not envisage the commission's proceedings will have any impact on the company's plans going forward”.

Author: James Verrinder