ISP

In a comically inept move, U.K. Internet service provider BT Group has decided to delete posts on its forums about its deployment of Phorm's controversial behavioral targeting platform.

Internet service provider ATandT is backing a new privacy think tank, the Future of Privacy Forum, which is expected to articulate privacy standards for companies that engage in online behavioral targeting. ATandT's law firm, Proskauer Rose, is spearheading the effort. The firm has tapped Jules Polonetsky, former AOL chief privacy officer, to lead the new think tank, expected to be unveiled Monday. The same law firm also helms the anti-net neutrality group "Hands Off the Internet."

Behavioral targeting company Phorm seems to be suffering from a privacy-related backlash in the U.K.This week, Neil Berkett, CEO of Internet service provider Virgin Media, told investors in New York that the company wasn't likely to work with Phorm any time soon. "Our next initiative probably won't be with the Phorms of the world," he said, according to reports.

The challenges of tracking, tagging and targeting mobile users is legendary. As Ed Moore, Product Marketing Strategist for Openwave, explains, the technical differences between standard Web-based browsing and mobile access to data are substantial. Openwave has been a longtime supplier of infrastructure solutions to major carriers, which gives the company a unique ISP-level view of all the usage patterns on a network.

Advocacy group Free Press is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to order broadband companies to disclose any efforts to monitor or interfere with their subscribers' Web activity.

It's now come to light that at least one major U.S. ISP, Cox Communications, has been quietly cutting off some alleged file-sharers for a while. Cox has only done so very rarely -- less than one-tenth of 1% of users have been disconnected, according to a Cox spokesman. Still, it's troubling that Cox has taken it upon itself not only to police the Web, but also play judge and jury and disconnect users who may not have done anything wrong.

Behavioral targeting company Phorm, which just launched another test of its controversial Webwise platform in the U.K., still plans to enter other countries, including the U.S., the company reiterated in a new stock filing.

Controversial behavioral targeting company Phorm will launch another test of its platform Tuesday with U.K. Internet service provider BT Group. Unlike the case in previous trials, BT will only deploy the platform, "Webwise," with subscribers who have affirmatively agreed to receive targeted ads. For the initiative, BT intends to intercept 10,000 users with a Web page asking whether they wish to sign up for Webwise, which it touts as offering "more relevant" ads.

Although they don't currently target ads to their broadband subscribers, representatives from *AT&T*, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon Communications appeared before a Senate committee and promised to adopt a system that would seek customers permission first before serving behavioral ads, ClickZ reported. In a period of increased scrutiny on behavioral targeting, cable companies and telcos are still holding out hope that they can convince lawmakers to allow the industry to self-regulate.

Back in February, six of the largest cable companies in U.S.-- Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable, Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cox Communications, Charter Communications (