Phorm | Approach to User Privacy | Privacy Slideshow

[Nicholas Bohm]

Peter Fairbrother wrote:
> Ian Batten wrote:
>> There's an hilariously inept and unconvincing presentation from Phorm...
>>
>> http://www.phorm.com/user_privacy/slideshow.php
> 
> the second slide is interesting:
> 
> "A radical new philosophy on privacy
> - We cannot know who you are
> - We cannot know where you have been
> - Free and transparent choice"
> 
> at least the first line is true ..

"We cannot know who you are" exhibits a misunderstanding that is 
widespread and needs to be challenged when opportunity arises.

The identity panic of recent years has treated "identity" as if it were 
equivalent to "name and address and some other distinguishing 
characteristics."  But that is only one of many possible statements of 
"Who you are".

If you browse to a phormed site and it says to itself, "Ah, it's that 
07AD346T63YWB09X again," and serves up used car adverts, that's 
precisely because it knows who you are (even if it doesn't know your 
name, address, ...).  You have been identified by the site.

Nicholas
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