British Telecom To Expand Phorm Use - Carrier could eventually land in the StatesCarrier could eventually land in the States (old news - 01:46PM Monday Dec 15 2008) tags: legal · business · privacy · world · consumers British Telecom's early trials of Phorm behavioral advertising technology ended in controversy, when it was leaked that the trials were conducted without informing consumers their browsing histories were being sold. BT's third, and more transparent trial of the technology is nearing completion, Phorm saying they expect BT to fully deploy the technology shortly. Says Phorm of the recently completed third trial: "The trial has now concluded and achieved its primary objective of testing all the elements necessary for a larger deployment, including the serving of small volumes of targeting advertising," said the company in a statement on Monday. "There will now be a period of joint analysis of the results. Following successful completion of analysis of both the trial results and of any changes required for expansion, BT's expectation is to move towards deployment." Deploying the snoopy technology across the carrier's network delivers a steady stream of cash to Phorm -- a former rootkit developer who hopes to expand their snoopy "service" into the U.S. market. BT customers would complain, but BT recently started banning all mention of the technology in the telco's forums. |