Controversial adversnooping company Phorm used to be named 121Media and has a history with rootkits and spyware. So it wasn't particularly surprising when privacy advocates began opposing the the company's efforts to push behavioral advertising systems in the UK that were dressed up as anti-phishing solutions. Criticism heated up further when the company conducted several rounds of secret trials of the technology with British incumbent British Telecom -- without informing consumers their browsing was being closely tracked.

As with the now defunct NebuAD here in the States, Phorm has had a hell of a few years. You could tell that Phorm was starting to struggle when the company recently went off the deep end and began complaining about "smear campaigns" against the questionable company, but their balance sheet isn't any healthier. According to Reuters, the company lost $48 million over the last year. The Guardian looks at where the money's going:At the moment, the company's got no income other than interest, but says they still have the resources to proceed. However, the huge amount of cash Phorm's burning through may put a damper on their proposed expansion from the UK to the US, which surely upsets privacy advocates. Still, Phorm says they have current "engagement with ISPs in 15 markets, including eight of the top 10 globally." The company is rumored to have at least discussed partnerships with both AT&T and Qwest.