Guest Comment: Phorm – is it all bad news?
- Added:
- Jul 03, 2008
Phorm has been steeped in controversy since its launch, with claims that the ad system breaches online privacy. Simon Norris, co-founder of search marketing agency Periscopix, asks if Phorm is, for better or worse, actually paving the way forward for the online ad industry.
You don’t have to look far to find people with a gripe about the breach of online privacy that advertising company Phorm is being criticised for.
Phorm’s specific behavioural advertising application tracks web users' activities via their ISPs, including search terms used on search engines, as well as URLs. This data is categorised to generate a profile and, although neither the user's browsing history nor IP address is retained, a cookie is set on their browser.
In the past, Phorm’s apparent disregard for data privacy has angered consumers, particularly in light of the leak that BT and Phorm tested the service in secret last summer, and raised challenges from professional bodies. And with the recent news that an alleged pilot will be carried out on 10,000 of BT’s customers over the coming weeks, Phorm has hit the headlines again.
Even in this swell of negativity, it’s important to look at the potential for the positive outcomes for the likes of Phorm, and behavioural targeting as a whole. Behavioural targeting has long been predicted to be the way of the future in the world of online advertising, it allows advertisers to deliver ads targeted to a user’s profile and offers them a more relevant online experience, as well as protection from online fraud and phishing scams. The likes of Phorm could provide that much needed safeguard for privacy, and in the future it is a model that may be taken on by others.
Recent rumours that Google was to introduce a phone that was free if users agreed to accept advertising, could be replicated in a situtation whereby ISPs could offer free broadband in return for users allowing them to sell their data. In theory, consumers could then compare their free service with a subscription one.
If the Phorm proposition is accurate, the former should offer a better experience because it uses consumers' data to provide targeted, and therefore relevant, information and it allows the consumer to keep a relative amount of control.
Google needs to make a decision on whether it’s going to get involved – if it doesn’t take the Phorm route, others definitely will. But if is does adopt this model, is it going to get mired in the same issue of privacy that has caused such a stir to date?
By Simon Norris
Co-Founder
Periscopix