Congress Plans To Push for Web Privacy - Blizzard Sector

**NewsDude** · 08-15-2008, 10:40 PM

Support for a law aimed at protecting consumers' online privacy is gathering steam in Washington. Representative Edward Markey [D-Mass.], head of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, says he and others plan to introduce comprehensive online privacy legislation in the coming congressional session.
Dubbed the Online Privacy Bill of Rights, the law may require companies to get approval from consumers before collecting information about their Web-surfing habits, a process known as behavioral targeting that helps Web sites more strategically place ads. The legislation may also demand that companies disclose more information on how they collect and use people's Web-use data. "There is a reasonable chance that we will see something in the next Congress," says Michael Hintze, an associate general counsel at Microsoft.
Watching What You Watch
Legislative interest in ad targeting spiked amid recent hearings over a company called NebuAd, which makes devices that attach to the networks of Internet Service Providers and log surfers' movements. Lawmakers are particularly interested in the implications of NebuAd's technology, known as deep packet inspection [DPI], one of the most comprehensive ways of keeping tabs on what people do online.
An examination of NebuAd prompted congressional staffers to look at ad targeting more broadly. On Aug. 1, Markey's committee sent letters to 33 companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, asking each to outline its tracking practices.
Behavioral targeting has come into its own in recent years as companies crafted ever more powerful methods for combing through data. Internet companies have bolstered their ability to target ads through the acquisition of large ad networks able to amass their own information on consumers' site-viewing habits. During the past year, Microsoft acquired aQuantive, Time Warner's AOL snapped up Tacoda, Google purchased DoubleClick, and Yahoo bought BlueLithium. The use of ad networks surged from 5 percent of total ad impressions sold in...

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08-15-2008, 10:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
NewsDude Status: *** Elder Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: News Office Posts: 1,884** Tournaments Joined: 0 Tournament Wins: 0 Spent time on board: 0:05:24 Hours Rep Power: 4	Support for a law aimed at protecting consumers' online privacy is gathering steam in Washington. Representative Edward Markey [D-Mass.], head of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, says he and others plan to introduce comprehensive online privacy legislation in the coming congressional session. Dubbed the Online Privacy Bill of Rights, the law may require companies to get approval from consumers before collecting information about their Web-surfing habits, a process known as behavioral targeting that helps Web sites more strategically place ads. The legislation may also demand that companies disclose more information on how they collect and use people's Web-use data. "There is a reasonable chance that we will see something in the next Congress," says Michael Hintze, an associate general counsel at Microsoft. Watching What You Watch Legislative interest in ad targeting spiked amid recent hearings over a company called NebuAd, which makes devices that attach to the networks of Internet Service Providers and log surfers' movements. Lawmakers are particularly interested in the implications of NebuAd's technology, known as deep packet inspection [DPI], one of the most comprehensive ways of keeping tabs on what people do online. An examination of NebuAd prompted congressional staffers to look at ad targeting more broadly. On Aug. 1, Markey's committee sent letters to 33 companies, including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, asking each to outline its tracking practices. Behavioral targeting has come into its own in recent years as companies crafted ever more powerful methods for combing through data. Internet companies have bolstered their ability to target ads through the acquisition of large ad networks able to amass their own information on consumers' site-viewing habits. During the past year, Microsoft acquired aQuantive, Time Warner's AOL snapped up Tacoda, Google purchased DoubleClick, and Yahoo bought BlueLithium. The use of ad networks surged from 5 percent of total ad impressions sold in... More...