Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. told lawmakers Wednesday that Congress should pass basic privacy legislation to protect information about consumers, such as the data being gathered about people's Web surfing habits in order to pinpoint Internet advertising.
At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on online advertising, representatives of the two technology rivals said meaningful privacy rules should be based on three core principles: Consumers should be clearly notified what information is being collected about them; people should control how that information is used; and such data should be secured to ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands.
The Commerce Committee held its hearing amid mounting concern about the volume of personal information being gathered about consumers as they surf the Web -- including the sites they visit and the search terms they look up -- as well as the many ways that information is mined to deliver targeted ads. One focus of the hearing was a small Silicon Valley startup called NebuAd Inc., which works with Internet service providers to track many of their subscribers' online interests and serve up targeted ads based on that behavior.
While Congress has not taken up a comprehensive privacy bill, privacy watchdogs are hoping that Wednesday's hearing could lay the foundation for eventual legislation. North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan, who chaired the panel, pledged more hearings.
"The Internet brings the world to your fingertips ... but I would hope that every consumer traveling on the Internet would have the opportunity to understand what kind of information trail they are leaving behind," Dorgan said.
The Senate hearing also came as the Federal Trade Commission is working to draft a framework by which online advertising companies can regulate themselves. Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, told the panel that "self-regulation is the best approach" to...

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