No formal investigation of BT for its secret trials of Phorm

The City of London Police authorities have made it clear that they would not be conducting a formal investigation of BT for its secret trials of the controversial ad monitoring system, Phorm.

Upset users handed over a load of evidence to the police authorities. This was after the annual general meeting of the telco in July. The police concluded no apparent criminal offence seems to have been committed. Alex Hanff, one among the campaigners in the long-drawn out case, quipped:

They stated there was not any criminal intent on behalf of the firm BT and that there was ‘implied’ consent because it (the service) was going to benefit customers.

A thinktank Foundation for Information Policy Research legal expert Nicholas Bohm, who spoke to BBC News, remarked the police response was absolutely ‘absurd’. He said.

The idea that implied consent on the grounds that some individuals would like a service is not good enough at all.

One of the BT customers ‘affected’ by the trials, Stephen Mainwaring, stated he was rather disappointed that police have chosen not to pursue the case. He said:

I actually spotted something was going on my PC. But BT said I must have a virus. I am pretty angry about how I was treated.