In Marketing Privacy Legal Compliance is Never Enough

News hit the feeds today that, rather unsuprisingly, BT has dropped plans to run with the behavioural tracking company Phorm.   If any (marketing) company ever wanted proof positive where privacy is concerned that the will of the masses has greater authority than merely being legally compliant – this is it.

BT helped to develop Phorm and the system adheres to the UK DPA (if not the EU), consulted with the Home Office to ensure their position but screwed up by breaking the social norms in place by the community at large.

But BT did what any commercial entity would have done and ditched the system (irrespective of it’s worth or value) when it was apparent that their ability to retain Customers was severely hampered as trust had broken down.

In a world so acutely (albeit not always accurately) sensitised to security and privacy issues it never ceases to amaze me that companies believe that just because legally they can do something means they should.