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A U.K. regulator has ruled that Phorm’s ISP targeting practices are "are capable
of being operated in a lawful, appropriate and transparent fashion," giving a boost to the web monitoring company’s business of tracking consumers online.

today,  the U.K.’s Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) also stressed that any profiling Phorm conducts must be done "with the knowledge
and agreement of the customer" and that Phorm must make their business
practices clear to users:

"Users will be presented with an unavoidable
statement about the product and asked to exercise choice about whether
to be involved. Users will be able to easily access information on how
to change their mind at any point and are free to opt in or out of the
scheme."

Phorm is an ad serving platform that tracks consumer web surfing habits
through ISPs, a practice called "deep packet inspection" that has been
mired in privacy violation accusations. American firm NebuAd has
essentially pulled out of the business until Congress completes its
investigation, but Phorm is moving forward with ISPs in Britain, as of last week.

The ad serving company first came under fire in 2006 when it was revealed that British Telecom conducted trials of Phorm’s technology without consent from users, a fact that was not mentioned by the BERR.

A European Union investigation of Phorm continues.

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