Davey Winder
Friday, 05 September 2008 21:02
IT Industry -
Market
Page 2 of 2
That will depend upon how much evidence there is to
suggest that residents, or workers, within the London financial
district which it polices, were impacted by the trials.
It will also, of course, come down to how much
money any investigation would cost, and if the outcome were likely to
be deemed in the public interest.
Talking of monetary cost, the whole affair seems to be costing Phorm
itself dearly. Earlier this week its share price slumped to a low of
UKP £5.80 compared to a high earlier in the year of £35.04
This was put down as being a response to the possibility of a third BT
trial being cancelled, together with US newspaper reports doubting if
it will ever get the go ahead to do business in the US.
BT, meanwhile, is keeping very quiet about the affair at present, and
we are just left with the existing comments from it which point to the
legal advice taken before the trials that concluded it was perfectly
legal.
Privacy campaigners, including the Foundation for Information Policy
Research, maintain the trials broke the Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act.
Indeed, it has been argued that legality under RIPA could only be
assured if consent was obtained before testing. That did not happen.
Book 'em Danno!