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| News Update | Reviews | Guides |
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Web inventor's warning on spy software |
| 2008-03-19 |
Source:
telegraph.co.uk |
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The creator of the World Wide Web has hit out at corporate attempts to track users' online browsing habits.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee said it was vital that consumers' rights were protected and what sites they visited were not recorded by commercial organisations without express permission.
He was speaking as major British internet service providers (ISPs), including Talk Talk, BT and Virgin, consider adopting a web tracking service provided by a company called Phorm.
Phorm promises to offer personalised advertisements for customers by tracking their web surfing, which could radically alter advertising on the internet.
But Sir Tim said it was fundamental that a web surfer's browsing history belonged to him, and not the ISP.
He said: "It's mine - you can't have it. If you want to use it for something, then you have to negotiate with me. I have to agree, I have to understand what I'm getting in return.
"I think consumers' rights in this are very important. We haven't seen the results of these systems being used."
He also raised concerns that what a person looked at online could be used for other purposes.
He said: "I want to know if I look up a whole lot of books about some form of cancer that that's not going to get to my insurance company and I'm going to find my insurance premium is going to go up by 5 per cent because they've figured I'm looking at those books," he told BBC News.
Phorm claims its web-tracking service will improve customers' browsing experience by warning them about 'phishing' sites in which criminals try to con personal data out of people.
But it has come in for a storm of protest from privacy rights campaigners, who believe the system could be the thin end of a very thick wedge.
Sir Tim added: "I myself feel that it is very important that my ISP supplies internet to my house like the water company supplies water to my house. It supplies connectivity with no strings attached.
"My ISP doesn't control which websites I go to, it doesn't monitor which websites I go to."
Other companies have come under heavy fire for attempting to install tracking devices.
Facebook, the social networking site, was criticised for trying to introduce an advertising system called Beacon, and was forced to offer customers an opt-out.
Web giant Google suffered brand damage when it emerged that it was planning to 'read' customers' Google Mail email accounts to offer them targeted advertisements.
Talk Talk has said its customers would have to opt in to use Phorm.
BT and Virgin are currently considering whether they should ask their customers to opt in or opt out of it.
The Home Office has drawn up guidance for ISPs which suggests that they will be able to track web surfing habits and trawl for other data, as long as customers have given their consent. |
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