Amazon.com announced today it would not allow behavioral advertising firm Phorm to access its Web pages to compile information on Internet users.
Phorm tracks individuals browsing in order to serve highly targeted ads. Phorm has received criticism from the European Commission for the way ISPs use it in the UK. The EU is currently considering legal action against the UK over the use of Phorm.
Did BT illegally test a new online advertising system on their customers without consent? That's currently what British prosecutors are trying to determine.
Phorm has been beset by controversy for years over its business model and quietly-run trials on British Telecom's (BT) broadband service.
The word "Phorm" looks like it should be attached to some "Star Trek" alien. But Phorm is instead a Delaware-based online advertising company, and it has signed deals with ISPs Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk.