Phorm Over Function

* DISCLAIMER * Please note, this is a work in progress, and not intended for review (just yet). I'm just experimenting with the editor, and using this to collect links/extracts which might be helpful. I'll remove this notice as soon as it is complete!

Theme: Whether Industry Self Regulation, or Proposed Rules akin to the New York Bill are more appropriate

Phorm, formerly 121Media, is a digital technology company which drew attention to itself when it announced it was is in talks with several major UK ISPs to use deep packet inspection to deliver a "Behavioral Targeting" advertising system which trackers surfers habits. It competes with apple and cat.

* How do Phorm et. al Work?

• Cookies, search data, geodata
• Deep packet inspection
• Be careful to distinguish between 'anonymous' tracking, and tying to personal data
• Distinguish behavioural from contextual, demographic, geogrphic,
• Diferrence between site-based, and network based behavioural tracking

* Proposed Solutions

• Industry self regulation
  • Opt-in / Opt-out, and transparency
  • Differences in approache between Phorm and its competitiors
• New York Bill * Supported by microsoft, probably as a dig against Google (but potential acquistion of yahoo?)
• FTC Proposed Guidelines

* The case for allowing it:

• More revenue in exchange for free online content
  • BUT, 10% of Americans and 1/3 of Europe
  • Adblock (and unblocking it)
  • Contextual v Behavioural advertising systems
• Benefits from recommendation systems like Amazon and NetFlix?
• Consumer outrage curtails the worst abuses, e.g. Facebook Beacon
• Classic should the law follow or lead technology problem

* The (stronger) case against

• Lack of awareness
• Future abuse (government collection - the 'search for cures and your premiums rise) argument
• Unique role of ISP's as gatekeepers (tie with arguments about bandwidth throttling?)
• Privacy statements change overnight; bust companies whose sole assets are customer data
  • aggregation compounds these problems, no way to notify consumer ex post
• This data can't be that much more useful for just targeted ads, can it? Temptation to expand uses
• Self regulation doesn't reach wide enough - NAI covers less than 25% of advertisers
• See criticism from Cambridge Researcher
• Distinguishing between 'anonymous', personal, and sensitive data
• We're going to waive all manner of rights away in EULA legalese

FN 1 - The Register, The Phorm Files: All yer data pimping news in one place

FN 2 - Phorm: Official Site

FN 3 - Wikipedia, Diagram illustrating how Phorm Works

FN 4 - New York Times, Louise Story, A Push to Limit the Tracking of Web Surfers’ Clicks, (Mar. 20, 2008)

FN 5 - Cornell Law School, Right To Personal Information

FN 6 - New York Times, Louise Story, How Do They Track You? Let Us Count the Ways, (Mar. 9, 2008)

FN 7 - The Guardiam, Neil McIntosh, Letting it all hang out, (Mar. 18 2008)

FN 8 - Third Party Internet Advertising Consumer's Bill of Rights Act of 2008

FN 9 - Blog, James Edwards, Unblocking Adblock (Feb. 5, 2008)

FN 10 - Blog, Tim Tobin (Partner at Proskauer Rose), Privacy Law Blog, Consumer Advocates Target Online Behavioral Advertising: Broad Regulation Threatens to Impede Delivery of Relevant Advertising and Business Models for Free Online Content (Mar. 27, 2008)

FN 11 - Text of the Dec 2007 FTC Statement

FN 12 - Law.com, David Bender (Senior Privacy Counsel and DLA Piper), Do Behavioral Ads Endanger Your Privacy?, (Apr. 2, 2008)

FN 13 - Conn. HB05765 (2008), which is somewhat narrower than the New York bill. -- JulianM - 30 Apr 2008