The European Commission's (EC) telecoms commissioner, Viviane Reding, has confirmed that BT's secret 2006 and 2007 trials of Phorms controversial advertising system, which were conducted without customers’ knowledge or consent, are still under investigation.

Reding has reportedly now written a third letter to the UK government in response to its previous replies, which apparently failed to offer a satisfactory answer to the EC's concerns over Phorm's use:


To date both the current government, City of London Police and Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) have effectively turned their noses up at the issue. This is despite many industry experts and the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR) claiming that Phorm breaks European Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

The weight of official support, at least in the UK, would otherwise appear to be falling in Phorm’s favour. Mind you, one quick look at the Police’s laughable reasoning for not investigating BT’s secret trials of the technology shows how technical ignorance could also be to blame – here.