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Amazon blocks Phorm but won't say why
15 Apr 2009 | 12.24 Europe/London
After news yesterday that Phorm could be getting the U.K. Government in trouble with the European courts, Amazon UK has announced it's not going to let the behaviour-advertising system scan its web pages. The controversial technology - which is marketed under the name Webwise - works by scanning for keywords in the pages an Internet user visits and then assigns targeted advertising.
An Amazon statement says it has "contacted Webwise requesting that we opt out for all of our domains" - but the online retailer has refused to comment on the reasons behind their decision. Meawhile the Webwise team say "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."
Amazon is the first company to opt out. It was one of the companies that the Open Rights Group (ORG) urged last month to do so - a list that includes Microsoft, Google, Facebook, AOL, Yahoo and eBay. ORG executive director Jim Killock says he expects "more sites to block Webwise in the near future and ISPs to drop plans to snoop on web users." According to ORG, blog host LiveJournal is among the websites that'll take action.
ORG says it's acting on behalf of customers' "significant concerns" about Phorm. After an Amazon customer contacted the retailler regarding their own worries about the system, the website sent them a letter saying: "You can be assured that we take the security and privacy of our customers' information very seriously. We have no connections with Phorm and do not use their services."
Earlier this week it emerged the European Commission has given the Government two months to shore up British online privacy regulations in the wake of Phorm's release. The EC says it's concerned the service breaches personal data rules.
[ BBC ]
An Amazon statement says it has "contacted Webwise requesting that we opt out for all of our domains" - but the online retailer has refused to comment on the reasons behind their decision. Meawhile the Webwise team say "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."
Amazon is the first company to opt out. It was one of the companies that the Open Rights Group (ORG) urged last month to do so - a list that includes Microsoft, Google, Facebook, AOL, Yahoo and eBay. ORG executive director Jim Killock says he expects "more sites to block Webwise in the near future and ISPs to drop plans to snoop on web users." According to ORG, blog host LiveJournal is among the websites that'll take action.
ORG says it's acting on behalf of customers' "significant concerns" about Phorm. After an Amazon customer contacted the retailler regarding their own worries about the system, the website sent them a letter saying: "You can be assured that we take the security and privacy of our customers' information very seriously. We have no connections with Phorm and do not use their services."
Earlier this week it emerged the European Commission has given the Government two months to shore up British online privacy regulations in the wake of Phorm's release. The EC says it's concerned the service breaches personal data rules.
[ BBC ]