14 DAY TRIAL // The European Commission has sent a formal notice to the UK government calling for changes in the national legislation, which is supposed to protect the privacy of Internet users. This action was triggered by British Telecom's testing a behavioral advertising technology called Phorm during 2006 and 2007, without having consent from its customers.
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union, which is responsible with enforcing its legislation. The EU Commissioner for the Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding, has questioned the way in which the British government has implemented the European legislation concerning communication privacy.
"This should allow the U.K. to respond more vigorously to new challenges to eprivacy and personal data protection such as those that have arisen in the Phorm case. It should also help reassure U.K. consumers about their privacy and data protection while surfing the Internet," Ms. Reding said, in regards to the Commission's actions.
Furthermore, in her weekly message (PDF), she stressed that there was nothing bad with behavioral advertising, as long as it was performed with the consumer's consent. Behavioral advertising involves tracking a user's browsing habits in order to determine what advertisements would interest them the most.
"European privacy rules are crystal clear: a person's information can only be used with their prior consent. We cannot give up this basic principle, and have all our exchanges monitored, surveyed and stored in exchange for a promise of 'more relevant' advertising. I will not shy away from taking action where an E.U. country falls short of this duty," the Commissioner warned.
In addition to the more serious action against the UK, a general warning has also been issued for all member countries, urging them to enforce privacy laws when it comes to technologies such as social networking or RFID smart chips. The Commission has already got 17 social networking services to sign an agreement on safety principles that must be uphold. This is specifically aimed at implementing better privacy protection for children using such online resources.
If the British government does not address the issues described in the formal letter in two months' time, it risks being taken to the European Court of Justice. "I finally believe that it is imperative for the next Commission, which will come into office by the end of this year, to review Europe's general rules on protecting personal information, which date back to 1995. Such a reform is long overdue, in view of the rapid technological development,” Commissioner Reding concluded.