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Phorm "Edited and Approved" UK Government Advice
Posted by
kdawson
on Tue Apr 28, 2009 02:17 PM
from the odd-bedfellow dept.
from the odd-bedfellow dept.
Barence was one of several readers to send in word that the UK Home Office checked whether its interpretation of the law suited Phorm, before issuing advice on the legality of the controversial advertising service. The Home Office and Phorm entered a dialogue about the company's services back in August 2007, at Phorm's request. In an email sent to Phorm in January 2008, a Home Office official writes: 'I should be grateful if you would review the attached document, and let me know what you think.' After Phorm made deletions and amendments to the document, the Home Office sent another email to the company stating: 'If we agree this, and this becomes our position do you think your clients and their prospective partners will be comforted.' From the BBC: "Baroness Sue Miller, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on Home Affairs, told BBC News: 'My jaw dropped when I saw the Freedom of Information exchanges. ... Anything the Home Office now says about Phorm is completely tainted.'"
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BT Drops Phorm, Citing More Pressing Priorities 94 comments
Tom DBA notes a story up at The Register that begins "BT has abandoned plans to roll out Phorm's controversial web monitoring and profiling system across its broadband network, claiming it needs to concentrate resources on network upgrades... BT's announcement comes a day before MPs and peers of the All Party Parliamentary Communications Group are due to begin an investigation of Internet privacy. Their intervention follows the EU's move to sue the UK government over its alleged failure... properly [to] implement European privacy laws with respect to the trials, drawing further bad publicity to the venture." We've discussed Phorm many times in the past.
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Terrible summary (Score:2, Insightful)
What is Phorm?
What is "Home Office"?
What is the relationship between the two?
If the summary were a physical object, I'd rate it about a 3 out of 7132.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Terrible summary (Score:5, Informative)
What is Phorm?
FTA: "Phorm serves up adverts related to a user's web browsing history that it monitors by taking a copy of the places they go and search terms they look for."
What is "Home Office"?
From Wikipedia: "The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security and order."
What is the relationship between the two?
That's the thing, they shouldn't have any sort of relationship.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
While I admire your helpfull attitude, and well crafted post, I regret to inform you: 'whoosh'.
*note the distinct lack of all caps, and no exclamation marks*
He has commented on Phorm articles before. He knows what Phorm is, but I think he was just using some form of sarcasm or something to point out bad form in the summary.
Again, no sarcasm, derision, or other negative agendas were implied, nor designed against you here. :-)
I just 'know' this character and his sometimes 'dry wit' from past comments.
BTW, wel
Re:Terrible summary (Score:5, Insightful)
where do we start the easy one home office basically in charge of domestic matters, similar to the foreign office for non domestic matters.
Phorm...
absolutely no point me rewriting the wikipedia article so heres the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorm [wikipedia.org].
They were a spywear company now there an advertising company that spies on an Isps customers and scrapes peoples web sites in order to sell advertising to your competitors.
As a website owner what is particularly objectionable is the scraping of your sites to sell ad space to other companies. Their bot will spider your page and ignore robots.txt unless they say you have specifically blocked google and yahoo. The critical difference between what google and yahoo does and phorm does is google and yahoo spider your site to bring your pages to the attention of people looking for what you offer. Phorm spiders your site in order to bring people to other sites which offer similar things to what you offer. Poaching your customer base in this way with your own marketing materials is well out of order.
which is perhaps one good reason why this matters if your outside of the UK but with a UK customer base.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
They were a spywear company
So they made trench coats and top hats - available in black or white? Cool [spyvsspyhq.com].
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You picked the one Department that is least like the Home Office. The Dept. of State deals with issues external to the US. Interior, Homeland Security, Commerce, are the internal departments that are probably most like Home Office.
Re: (Score:2)
Impressive... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Impressive... (Score:5, Informative)
Even more accurately, this is what it looks like when a Director of a private sector company also works in the public sector. For the very ministry responsible for regulating the company he sits on the board of.
It's not so much the fox guarding the hen-house as it is the fox being awarded an exclusive construction contract for every hen-house in the country.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, no wait, that sounds about right...
It's about tracking Internet activity (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Not if it's *that* big sister from BioShock 2. *ewww*
Phorm? (Score:3, Insightful)
Am I the only one who has no idea who or what Phorm is?
For everyone else like me, a quick google search tells me that it is a company that makes advertising software that borders on spyware. I think the UK's argument that Phorm is okay since it can be used in a legal is entertaining. Sounds like the exact opposite argument that the same politicians probably used to shutdown P2P services.
Ahhh, corruption. Where would democracy be without it?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Well, not the only one. You may be in the minority, though.
It has appeared as article material [slashdot.org] here on /. before. [slashdot.org]
I do notice that I'm developing a tendency to think 'where have you been?' lately when I see a question like yours. :-)
I try not to actually voice that thought, as I realise that I have been off work recovering from surgery for a while(way too long!), and forget I spend far too much time here.
Please accept my apologies if I started off as being harsh.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That's right, the USSR was a ethical paragon & never, ever suffered from corruption. Same with Argentina.
Re: (Score:3)
What's Argentina got to do with this? We've not had a communist government ever. The current administration is as corrupt as they come, as populist, demagogic and disgusting as it can be, but not communist by any rational definition.
Re: (Score:2)
Oops. You're right of course.
Argentina, Venezuela, they have the same number of syllables at least.
Re: (Score:2)
Your "zu-e-la" is actually only two syllables.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Oh ok, so a theoretical communist government has 0 corruption. Right. As these things go, that's an awful small test group.
-backs away slowly, smiling.
Re: (Score:2)
Not Democracy Mr. AC, it's a democratic republic & has never claimed to be anything else.
Crap! (Score:3, Insightful)
How are we sopposed to threaten to move to another country if they all suck?
Where's our cheap space travel? Oh, and somewhere to travel to.
Re: (Score:2)
To quote the Arrogant worms: "We won't say that we're better ... it's just that we're less worse"
Yep (Score:5, Insightful)
Specifically, this one [slashdot.org]. A quick quote from the relevant bit:
"
Was clear that the ministerial office and Phorm were either working rather more closely than they let on, or that the Minister in question had no clue and simply took everything on trust from Phorm.
Cheers,
Ian
*A UK Parliamentary phrase, for those that don't recognise it.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I regretfully inform you that all communication with Honorable gentlemen should consist soley of cheers OR jeers , any dialogue that a child aged 10 isn't capable off understanding would require the Honorable [google.co.uk] gentleman to actually engage his brain more than 30% of the time and this is an unneeded stress and will soon be outlawed all together.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Google hit number 1 is the company itself.
Google hit number 2 is Wikipedia, which explains it as well as anyone could have done in the summary.
Then there are links to news articles, explaining recent controversy over it.
I know that RTFA (which would also have answered your question) is unfashionable here on Slashdot, but I'm wondering what your problem was with this Google search...
I'll say it again... (Score:4)
... goosestepping towards fascism.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
"Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 612 times in debates -- well above average amongst Lords."
Shocking!
Re: (Score:2)
Surely such sentiments are artful and adequate.
The emails in question (Score:2, Informative)
Chilling (Score:2, Funny)
This makes me feel sick. If only more Sue Millers were elected...
Re:Chilling (Score:4, Insightful)
The irony of it is that as she's a peer in the house of Lords, she's one of the ones that isn't actually elected to her position ;)
Perhaps this whole democracy thing is actually the problem ;)
Parent
Translation to US English follows: (Score:2)
etc.
About par for the course (Score:4, Interesting)
If you want an ad-driven Internet, this is the sort of arrangement you are going to get.
The idea that a company shouldn't sell advertising that is specifically designed to raid one web sitefor the benefit of another is silly. Advertisers are going to do whatever they can to sell ads. We've gone way beyond selling banner ad space. Now you get advertising that is designed for specific customers at specific times.
I'd guess the next big thing will be something like ISP-inserted ads so if you type www.tigerdirect.com it pops up an ad for Newegg. Or, when you do do a search on a CNN site that you get a popup for an item at Sears related to whatever you were searching for on CNN. Advertising that is "relevent" but has nothing what so ever to do with the web site you were on - just related to what you were typing or clicking on.
How about a system that takes whatever you were doing on the web and has a telemarketer call you about a related product immediately?
We've just begun down the road of an ad-supported society. One where everything seems to be free, except somehow people are paying for all the advertising. Maybe individual people will be able to rent out product referrals, so you get paid every time you say "Coke". Can you imagine a conversation between two people, one getting paid to say "Coke" and the other getting paid to say "Pepsi"? How about displaying your sponsorship with logoware? You know, a hat with a Nike logo and a shirt with a Reebok logo?
Fantasy? I doubt it. The more people think they want stuff for free and keep on showing their desire for free stuff to marketers, the more "free", ad-supported stuff there will be. And the bigger Google grows the more it convinces people that they too can make money by selling ad space.
Re: (Score:2)
The day I get paid to wear Gucci, Polo or other brands where 50% of the price comes from the logo on the shirt is the day I'll actually wear it. In the meantime, I feel a little dirty every time I parade around in branded clothes.
Re:About par for the course (Score:4, Interesting)
I feel a little dirty every time I parade around in branded clothes.
As do I. This is why I have a seam-ripper sewing tool and carefully remove all alligators and these types of things. It's not as involved as one might think.
Parent
Re:About par for the course (Score:4, Informative)
The "Home Office", is interested in Phorm because the current mentally retarded government can see the potential of the system. Today it's re-writing web pages replacing adverts for their own on-the-fly, tomorrow it's re-writing whole web pages by government edict to write the gospel according to the government.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Charter.net actually was planning the ISP level ads.. however, they backed down after a shit-storm of controversy.
Wow... (Score:2)
Get the "Phacts"! (Score:4, Informative)
Phorm should already be a slashdot meme, they're a psychopathic pastiche of "Get the Facts" era Microsoft and SCO.
http://www.stopphoulplay.com/ [stopphoulplay.com]
The CEO is a spyware peddler who doth protest too much about "protecting privacy". Well beyond parody, this is A-grade comedy for geeks.
Re: (Score:2)
I for one... (Score:2)
Wake up UK morons. (Score:5, Insightful)
Another day, another example of the venal, self serving, political class currently running the UK into the ground. I just wish people in the UK would wake up, get off their arses and go out and vote for anything other than the red themed (the one with the rose logo) or blue themed (the one with the torch logo) Conservative parties.
Honestly just go and vote for absolutely anybody else. Vote Liberal democrats, vote Monster Raving Loony, vote Green, vote for the Miss UK party, just make sure you vote and make sure it's not for either the red or blue parties. if necessary tactially vote to make sure the bastards are beaten. I'd love to see the day when we had a government comprised of an eclectic mix of all sorts of individuals.
The political class in this country treat its citizens with utter contempt and do not deserve a job of any sort, let alone one that allows them to ruin the lives of everyone else. If they're not putting their hand in our back pockets to pay for yet more luxury furnishings to their second homes (paid for by us) they're desperately trying to find more ways to micro manage and interfere with every last vestige of our personal lives.
I think Mr. Coleman (Killing Joke) puts it best in Implant with the line "You don't want to protect, you just want to fucking control".
Oh never mind Eastenders is on in a minute, followed by Match of the day, and it's all too difficult to think about. I suppose people do get the governments they deserve after all...
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Please note that we did not elect the current cabinet, they took control when Tony Blair stepped down. The phrase 'from frying pan into fire' springs to mind.
Also note that previous to Tony Blair we had endured Margaret Thatcher followed by John Major. Margaret was a strong leader but for every great idea she had there was another completely idiotic one. John Major was about as useful as Gordon Brown but probably a more honorable person. So understand that Tony Blair was set up to win because the country wa
Why not cut out the middleman? (Score:2)
Yet another example of why the system is broken and needs replacing with a citizen friendly democratic replacement.
Phorm phights phoul phreedom phighters (Score:5, Funny)
(really - look at StopPhoulPlay.com [stopphoulplay.com]. It's really special.)
Beleaguered Internet advertising phirm Phorm is hitting back at critics with StopPhoulPlay.com [stopphoulplay.com], in an attempt to lure Internet activists into herniating from laughter.
"It is clear that the campaign against Phorm [today.com] originates in the sinister manipulations of Alex Hanff and Marcus Williamson," said Kent Ertegun, CEO of Phorm, "who have used mind control lasers and the killer robot armies of the Open Rights Group and FIPR to deceive millions of Britons into a Communistic fervor of hatred against the engines of the free market and customer demand, the salesmen and marketers, the true creators and enablers of objective value."
The website, designed in Microsoft Word, uses the public relations format so successfully put into play by the ReligiousFreedomWatch.org [religiousf...mwatch.org] site of the Church of Scientology, a community institution of flawless repute. StopPhoulPlay.org reveals how:
* At the age of five, Hanff REFUSED to share his crayons with the little girl next to him, saying she was "poopy" and would only draw a picture to be used against him.
* At age twelve, Williamson accepted MONEY from his mother to buy sweets, but not to tell schoolmates in case they wanted some.
* Hanff and Williamson may have attempted to access POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL images blocked by the Internet Watch Foundation.
* Hanff and Williamson have used WIKIPEDIA at least once in their lives.
* Hanff and Williamson INVADED POLAND in 1939.
"Given the persistence with which they propagate incorrect information, we cannot rule out the possibility that a competitor is involved," he said. "The competitor goes under the name 'reality.' Needless to say, we have no tolerance for an entity of such limited possibilities.
"These people are privacy pirates -- people who steal privacy online, off the coast of Somalia. With Internet guns! And drugs! And child pornography!"
Mr Hanff and Mr Williamson said they were unsure whether to sue Phorm into atomic dust for gross defamation or to just let them continue with their infallible public relations work. Phorm shares have dropped from 405p to being declared a serious infection risk by the World Health Organization.
People who work in the public sector (Score:2)
As is the case with so many things like this that appear to be governments colluding with the private sector to further commercial vested interest etc. etc., it is in fact just a result of the kind of people that work in the public sector in Britain.
Basically, most civil servants are marshmallow-soft, compliant yes-men who spend most of their time finding the line of least resistance for various reasons. Sometimes it's over work, sometimes it's lack of knowledge or confidence in the issues they are being as