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sheilaellen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:14:57 +0000

I have just sent an email asking for my bluegumtree domains to be excluded from Phorm:

I request that my web sites be excluded from scanning by the
Phorm/BT Webwise system, as I consider deep packet inspection to be an infringement of privacy.

Here is a list of the domains that should be excluded (please exclude
any and all subdomains as well):

bluegumtree.com
bluegumtree.co.uk

Many thanks,

Sheila Thomson
webmaster@bluegumtree.com

I based the format of my email on the message sent recently by Brion Vibber, CTO of the Wikimedia Foundation. Like him, I have already received an automatic response:

Thank you for your submission to the Phorm website exclusion list. If there are no obvious grounds to doubt the legitimacy of the request the URL will be blocked as soon as possible, usually within 48 hours.

Requests must be made by the legitimate owner of the domain. If we have questions regarding your domain Phorm may take a number of steps, including attempting to contact the domain administrator by email for confirmation of this request. If the request remains questionable and is not confirmed within 10 days, the URL will be removed from the exclusion list and an email will be sent informing you of this decision.

Where applicable, please ensure that the Administrative Contact details for this domain are up to date. If you need to update them, please resubmit your request when the amended details are visible in the WhoIs database – (use a public whois service such as http://who.godaddy.com/whoischeck.aspx if you are unsure it has been updated)

Heard a rumour about Phorm? Check out the truth at www.StopPhoulPlay.com

The response I received is almost identical but for the last line: a promotion for the anti-anti-Phorm website they launched today. Unfortunately, it’s not been as well received as Phorm might have hoped and may now even be something they’d prefer to be shoving discretely under the carpet.

Anyhoo, it seems all I have to do now is wait 48 hours. Wonder if there’s any way I can then double-check that my domains are on the exclusion list?

In case you’re wondering, the motivation behind doing all this is that Phorm relies on deep packet inspection (DPI), which I consider to be an invasive technique that infringes on personal privacy and that employing it simply to improve the effectiveness of advertising is a poor trade-off.

For more information about how DPI is being used in this context, see https://nodpi.org/faq

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