The Economic Times
The European Commission started legal action against Britain on Tuesday for what the EU executive called a failure to keep people's online details confidential.
EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the action related to how Internet service providers used Phorm technology to send subscribers tailor-made advertisements based on websites visited.
Britain has two months to respond to the charges, a Commission spokesman said.
BT admitted in April last year that it had tested Phorm in 2006 and 2007 without telling its customers, the Commission said.
The trials sparked "snooping" accusations from privacy groups and concern from the founder of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, but found support from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom.
Phorm said earlier this month it was delighted with the trials it had held in Britain and that it was in talks on further international expansion through joint ventures and did not fear regulatory intervention.
Reding said Internet users in Britain had complained about the way the UK applied EU rules on privacy and electronic communications that were meant to prohibit interception and surveillance without the user's consent.
"Technologies like Internet behavioral advertising can be useful for businesses and consumers but they must be used in a way that complies with EU rules," Reding said in a statement.
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