More news on this foot-dragging ISP snooping scandal.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/17/ripa_phorm_shambles/The government has refused to investigate BT's covert wiretapping of thousands of its customers in 2006 and 2007, despite its own expert's view that without consent Phorm's advertising targeting technology is a breach of criminal law.
Whitehall's willingness to turn a blind eye to the fact that tens of thousands of people were spied on by big business in order to serve up targeted marketing has angered web users.
BT customers who have attempted to report the secret listening and profiling experiments to the police have been told to approach the Home Office. One was subsequently told over email by an official: "It is important to remember that private companies such as ISPs are allowed to do certain things under section 3 of [the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act] that Law Enforcement Agencies cannot do without permission."
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is meanwhile investigating the tests for alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, but not the alleged criminal wiretap under RIPA. The ICO's work is based on a complaint from Stephen Mainwaring, the BT Business customer in Weston-super-Mare that we revealed was misled by his ISP over its involvement with Phorm last summer.
In its broad public statement on Phorm, the ICO also referred the question of an illegal interception under RIPA to the Home Office. It wrote: "The Home Office is responsible for compliance with RIPA, and Phorm has approached the office directly and had a written response."
The Home Office's spokesman, however, disavowed any responsibility for holding the pair to account for eavesdropping on what is now known to be between 38,000 and 108,000 customers. "The tribunal is there for people who have a complaint," he said. We pointed out that the interception tribunal only has jurisdiction over law enforcement.
The Home Office refused to say where people can go to report that they believe they have been illegally eavesdropped upon by a company.
The spokesman repeatedly said the Home Office "has made a statement and won't be adding to it".
This is a fiasco and a farce, since when can the government turn a blind eye to criminal activity I suggest a legal challenge be mounted against the minister himself to explain why he has failed in his duties to protect the public from commercialy motivated data abuse, if any of us did this sort of thing we would expect the authorities to be breaking the front door down.
I find the home office statement incredible, they bring the UK and the Government into disrepute by their silence on resolving this matter.
