Tom Jowitt reports:
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed it is looking into the process that TalkTalk uses to monitor the web addresses that its customers are using.
The news that TalkTalk was monitoring its customers’ online activity, as part of a trial for a new anti-malware system, first came to light in late July.
Read more on eWeek Europe.
Chris Williams of The Register also provides coverage, noting that the ICO rebuked TalkTalk in July about not disclosing the monitoring to users:
“You will be aware that compliance with one of the underlying principles of data protection legislation relies on providing individuals with information about how and why their information will be used. You will also be aware that these principles are not suspended simply because the information is being used for the purposes of a trial.”
He asked TalkTalk to provide documents to support its public claims that the technology and the trials comply with privacy laws.
The Reg also links to documents TalkTalk prepared for meetings with the ICO.
In a blog post on August 23, TalkTalk tried to spin explain the system to its customers.