Phorm and Privacy

Privacy concerns relating to Phorm have cause Amazon to be the first popular website to publicly state that they have asked Phorm not to intercept their web pages and profile the content for advertising purposes. 15th April 2009, guardian.co.uk carried the news.

How does Phorm evade Privacy?

Phorm partners with ISPs, supplying them with routers which host DPI systems. Basically the DPI system allows the ISP to intercept the traffic between a browser and a website, making a copy of everything that passes between the two. The copy is analysed for any data which can be sold for marketing products to the user of the browser. In the words of Phorm Director, Kent Ertugrul:

"This is a feature that takes pages and turns them into profitable opportunities to advertisers and that is the breakthrough here," said Ertugrul.

Not only does Phorm collect data about everything you do on the internet it also collects data off every web page you visit. Phorm sells that data to advertisers. Whatever you see on the internet you will soon be seeing adverts for the same thing. And the adverts will be trying to get you to buy from them and not the site you originally visited.

It is easy to see why Amazon would want to prevent data about its visitors being collected by Phorm. Thereby preventing Phorm from selling on that data to competitor advertisers.

Does it matter if I am followed everywhere?

Imagine that you go into your local corner shop to buy a burger. For days afterwards, each time you walk down the High Street someone hands you a flyer for a national burger chain showing you an advert for exactly the same burger you bought from your local shop. Will you be annoyed and continue to buy burgers from your local shop or will the advertising tempt you to move your business elsewhere? If every person who was shopping from your local burger shop has the same thing happening to them, how long will it be before your local shop starts to suffer from loss of trade?

That is the object of Phorm. Follow you around the Internet until it knows everything about you and then use that information so that Phorm can use it to target adverts at you. The whole purpose is to change your buying patterns to choose those businesses who use Phorm as an advertiser.

Is this an invasion of Privacy?

Phorm say no, because they don't know your name. When someone knows everything about you other than your name do you feel that your privacy has been protected? When someone knows so much about you that they can show you adverts about what you have been reading on your browser in the privacy of your own home, do you still feel like your life is private?

Do you believe Phorm when they claim to protect your privacy and that they do not to know who you are? Remember, Phorm will know everything about you, except for your name.

---

---