Phorm Set to Spread Across Entire BT Network

Not a good day for privacy advocates in the U.K.

Today, news broke that Phorm has ended its behavioral targeting trials with ISP British Telecom, which means that the controversial service will now be rolled out across the entire network.

An investor update distributed by Phorm this morning said the trial had “achieved its primary objective of testing all the elements necessary for a larger deployment”. Started in late September, the Phorm trials have been highly controversial, but a BT confirmed their success and stated that the ISP “expects to move towards deployment” by mid-next year.

That’s not all, folks. In addition to making plans to open a number of “exploratory offices” in other countries, Phorm is being tested by the ISPss Virgin Media and TalkTalk. Should these U.K. ISPs agree to deploy Phorm, the service will effectively cover most UK broadband subscribers.