European Commission Could Sue UK Over Phorm Privacy Controversy

The European Commission, lead by the Commissioner Viviane Reding, has criticised the UK for giving too much liberty to internet service firms to gather personal data on users and could take actions to remediate this.

In a statement published today, EU Telecommmunications Commissioner Reding said that she called on the UK authorities "to change their national laws and ensure that national authorities are duly empowered and have proper sanctions at their disposal to enforce EU legislation on the confidentiality of communications".

The uneasy relationship between BT and Phorm, the controversial behavioural targeting company was at the source of her frustration with the UK government, given that the latter knew about the business which violates EU laws on certain aspects.

Phorm has attracted a number of warranted criticisms as BT tested the system using its own users as guinea pigs without their consent, although the United Kingdom expressly condemns the "intentional" interception of data.

Other mainstream internet service providers like Talktalk and Virgin Media have already signified their interest in using Phorm to generate much needed advertising money.

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