BT Trials Phorm After Six-Month Delay

Originally planned to begin in April, British Telecom is starting its third trial of the contentious ad-serving Phorm technology

It was supposed to begin in April, but was put on hold, supposedly for technical reasons. It’s drawn a massive fallout of criticism and it’s being investigated by the European Commission. But now British Telecom (BT) is going ahead with its third trial of the Phorm ad-serving technology, known as Webwise.

Those taking Phorm will get a unique identifier that tracks their browsing habits online and targets ads to them, according to ZDNet.

According to BT:

"Around 10,000 customers will be invited to opt in to the trial when they commence their browsing session. We will issue invitations at random."

This time BT is obtaining consent, which they didn’t during the trials in 2006 and 2007 – and that was the big concern among privacy advocates. Some of those concerns do remain, but Kent Ertugrul, Phorm’s chief executive, feels they will be addressed. He noted:

"There is a pattern that people become more confident through engagement with the technology, including the [Commission]. We’re confident that people will not only tolerate it but welcome [Phorm] as a big step forward. The fact is [that Phorm] is something that is being welcomed by all of the websites we’ve spoken with and with advertisers. Market research by ISPs suggests [Phorm] is welcomed by consumers."