Unconfirmed rumours are currently circulating that Virgin, one of the three major ISPs to sign up to Phorm, is set to dump the controversial service. Virgin's official company position has not changed if you ask their press department, though the source of the rumour is a high ranking Virgin Media director.

This comes as yet another blow to Phorm after Talk Talk, another of the three ISPs, stated it would implement the service only on an 'opt in' basis - rather than the 'opt out' initially hoped for by Phorm.

BT however remains staunchly committed to Phorm - though I doubt how loyal they will stay if they end up being the only ones tethered to this controversial, highly-criticised and unpopular service. It would represent a quite unecessary turn-off for customers with plenty of alternatives elsewhere.

Whatever Virgin decides, one can take comfort in the way the whole Phorm episode has developed. It represents a slow but steady triumph of the media and of public opinion, in swaying public companies to consider their customers' overwhelming criticisms.

Maybe Phorm has been unfortunate in unwittingly becoming a scapegoat for all the intrusive data collection aspects of the modern web, and consequently deserves some sympathy. The underlying point though - and it is here that the victory for online rights resides - is that a message to the industry has been sent. The line is still there, and the overstepping of privacy bundaries will not go unnoticed and undefended.

Dejan Levi