Despite BT being heavily involved in the early development of online advertising system Phorm, the telephone giant has effectively walked away from a deal to roll out the controversial system across its whole network. The system, which has caught the attention of privacy campaigners, effectively monitors and analyses the internet usage of those surfing the web and uses complex advertising software to deliver perfectly targeted adverts.
The problem with the system was the fact that the company, i.e. Phorm, argued that because internet user private details were being held anonymously, with each Internet user being given a unique tag, there were no privacy issues. While the likes of BT, Virgin and an array of other leading ISPs in the UK had initially shown great interest in the scheme it looks as though customer feedback has prevented BT from pushing on with the arrangement. It now seems highly likely that other ISPs will follow the lead of BT which is part of the reason why Phorm shares collapsed 40% after news of BT’s withdrawal was announced.
Whether the system will return at a later date under a different guise remains to be seen, but it looks as though the highly controversial Phorm advertising system is dead and buried for the moment at least.