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 behavioral from contextual, demographic, geographic,
• Difference between site-based, and network based behavioral tracking

Proposed Solutions

• Industry self regulation
  • Opt-in / Opt-out, and transparency
  • Differences in approache between Phorm and its competititors
• New York Bill * Supported by microsoft, probably as a dig against Google (but potential acquisition 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
• Haven't Google/Yahoo!, especially with their toolbars been doing this for a while?

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

- read cambridge research doc - need to read the FIRP criticisms of Phorm

References

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 Guardian, 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

CNET, Greg Sandoval, Failed dot-coms may be selling your private information (June 29, 2000)

US Companies which Meet EU Safe Harbor Provisions

Richard Clayton (Cambridge Computer Laboratory, The Phorm 'WebWise' System,(Apr. 23, 2008))

Google Watch

Slate: Paul Boutin, You Are What You Search: AOL's data leak reveals the seven ways people search the Web (Aug. 11, 2006)

Ernst & Young Privacy Audit of Phorm

FIPR, Nicholas Bohm, The Phorm 'Webwise' System - A Legal Analysis, (Apr. 23 2008)

http://www.fipr.org/