Phorm confident about take-up despite Amazon opt out

Amazon has requested to opt out of Phorm's online behavioural targeting technology, so that its customers' online activity will not be tracked online.

On Tuesday (14 April) the European Commission said it was taking legal action against the UK government for failing to act against Phorm's system, after receiving a raft of complaints about the company.

A spokesman for Amazon said: "We have contacted Webwise requesting we opt out [of Phorm] for all of our domains."

Phorm's targeted advertising system allows ISPs to track customers' activity online to target them with relevant ads. However, it has prompted controversy with rights campaigners surrounding issues of privacy.

Amazon's decision to opt out of Phorm's system will come as a huge blow for the company, with the online retailer being the second-most visited destination after eBay.co.uk among shopping and classified websites in the UK, according to Hitwise.

A spokesman for Phorm said: "We have allowed a procedure for opting out. However, we are very comfortable that most companies will be happy to participate in the open internet exchange in due course following deployment."

This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk