Report: Amazon blocks Phorm from its U.K. site
Update at 9:08 a.m. PDT, with a statement from Phorm.
Amazon.com has reportedly blocked the use of the controversial behavioral-advertising system Phorm on its British site, according to a BBC report.
The move comes as the European Commission takes action against the United Kingdom, alleging that the country failed to adequately comply with data protection laws in Europe.
In the case involving the United Kingdom, the Commission initiated action after complaints arose over Phorm trials British Telecom launched in 2006 and 2007, in which it allowed Phorm's behaviorial-tracking technology onto its network without users' consent, according to a ZDNet UK report.
Amazon was not immediately available for comment Wednesday morning.
Phorm, however, said in a statement
There is a process in place to allow publishers to contact Phorm and opt out of the system, but we do not comment on individual cases.
Phorm's technology is designed to allow its customers to observe a user's behavior while online, such as Web sites visited or keywords entered, and then serve up relevant advertisements based on that behavior. The controversy over Phorm's technology revolves largely around privacy issues.
In the case of Amazon.co.uk, the BBC reported that the online e-commerce giant issued a statement that it had contacted British Telecom's Webwise, which markets the Phorm platform, and requested that all of its domains be opted-out of the program. According to the BBC report, Phorm noted that it has policies that allow customers to opt out of its system.
And that is what The Open Rights Group is hoping a number of major Web site publishers will do. Last month, the organization called upon Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, eBay, and Amazon to opt out of the Phorm system, according to the BBC report.
And from that group, Amazon marks the first company to give an indication that it is taking such action, the BBC noted.
Dawn Kawamoto covers enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News. E-mail Dawn. 
What's the EU going to do next, sue the world?
I think all the countries should sue the EU for being suck @#$%s
And I always thought the US was the world police....well I guess they still are. The EU just happens to be the world bottom feeding lawyers
That's what they thought.
[curse] yeah!
Coming again to save the mother [cursing] day yeah!
America!
[curse] yeah!
Freedom is the only way yeah!
Terrorist your game is through,
'cuz now you have to answer to ...
America!
[curse] yeah!
so lick my [censored] and suck on my [censored]!
America!
[curse] yeah!
Whatcha going to do when we come for you now?
That should be clean enough to make it past the nazi's, but we'll see how long it lasts (if at all).
- by Dalkorian April 16, 2009 12:27 PM PDT
- Opt out? Every customer, every website? How ridiculous is that? It should be required to make these nazi big brother companies use opt IN situations instead of opt out and the onus should be on the perpetrator (Phorm in this case), not their victims.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(5 Comments)Who really cares how much work Phorm has to go through to set something like this up? Why should ANYONE be forced to go through anything to opt in or out for Phorm's benefit? Require companies like this to acquire WRITTEN PERMISSION from ALL INVOLVED before instigating something like this - every user, every website. Impossible? Like we care, that's Phorm's problem to resolve, not ours!
BOYCOTT ALL "BEHAVIORAL TRACKING" SOFTWARE VEHEMENTLY! Tell companies like Phorm they're number one by giving them "the finger". You know which one I mean!