The UK Governments Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) has finally responded to European Union (EU) concerns about its position towards the controversial Phorm advertising system (EU Phorm Letter).

Phorm, which works with ISPs to monitor what websites you visit for use in targeted advertising campaigns, has raised a multitude of privacy concerns among consumers. Many also feel that the UK has been complacent in failing to take these seriously.

Sadly BERR refuses to provide the full text of the letter it has sent in response to the EU's enquiries, though they have offered an official statement to The Register. The crux of it appears to be that Phorm is legal, provided it adheres to the following guidelines:


Conspicuous by its absence is any mention of BT's secret 2006/2007 Phorm trials, which many regard to have been illegal because customer consent was not given and never asked for. It is not known whether the full letter covers these points, although we suspect it probably does.

Meanwhile the City of London Police continues to consider whether or not to open a formal investigation into BT's hidden trials. In addition, delays related to the Phorm controversy and the desire for technical changes mean that BT's official trials of the technology continue to fall behind schedule.