Under fire targeted advertising company Phorm has today revealed a new chairman in the shape of ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont, and a new strategy to help the image of the business. Since moving from a beta stage system to a full working order targeted advertising service the company has received significant criticism from those fighting for privacy.
In simple terms, the service allows Internet service providers to anonymously monitor the websites visited by their customers and use the system to target adverts which they are more than likely to act upon. There are issues regarding privacy with some parties suggesting individual clients can be traced while the company is adamant the system uses anonymous tags and is non-traceable.
However, today saw an interesting development with an attack on Google and other search engines on the Internet. The company is trying to highlight that they are not the only online service which should be dragged into the privacy storm with Google, amongst many, known to operate a similar target type of system. The company argues that it has set the “gold standard” with regards to online privacy and others need to follow suit. As the Phorm system moves closer to full release we are sure to see many fireworks over the coming days, months and years.