It was widely reported last week that Viviane Reding, a prominent European commissioner, had given the UK government until the end of August to respond to an EU letter questioning the legality of Phorm's controversial advertising system (here). However, the BBC's original report was incorrect and the deadline for a response has already come and gone.

The Commission reportedly sent its letter on 30th June and not mid-July 2008 as had been previously reported, a fact confirmed by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) - "We haven't responded yet," said a spokeswoman. It's understood that a formal response is still being worked on, which isn't surprising given the complexity of this matter.

The Register has reportedly managed to get its hands on the EU's letter, which has been posted in full here. However, those wishing the cut out the political jargon will be pleased to hear that it ends in a summary of five simple questions:


Meanwhile the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) recently sent another letter to BT concerning its secret 2006/2007 Phorm trials, which appears to suggest that the ICO is happy for laws to be breached so long as nobody gets hurt:


By that logic we should all be able to go over the speed limit in our cars, just so long as you don't crash.