No investigation into BT’s secret Phorm trials
(Via The Register) Chris Williams writes
The government has refused to investigate BT’s covert wiretapping of thousands of its customers in 2006 and 2007, despite its own expert’s view that without consent Phorm’s advertising targeting technology is a breach of criminal law.
…
BT customers who have attempted to report the secret listening and profiling experiments to the police have been told to approach the Home Office. One was subsequently told over email by an official: “It is important to remember that private companies such as ISPs are allowed to do certain things under section 3 of [the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] that Law Enforcement Agencies cannot do without permission.” The Home Office advice to BT and Phorm meanwhile, written by civil servant Simon Watkin, says a proposed Phorm deployment may be legal under RIPA only if consent is obtained.
