• The Associated Press, Thursday, April 23, 2009 9:33 AM

Cable operators are sitting in the hot seat today as Congress reviews their plans to roll out targeted advertising amid fears that consumer privacy could be infringed.

The House subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet is holding a hearing that is looking at the digital set-top boxes that cable TV companies plan to use to collect data and direct ads targeted to individual preferences. The Center for Digital Democracy, an activist group, is particularly concerned about Canoe Ventures, a cable company consortium, that is rolling out targeted and interactive ads nationally. Critics worry that Canoe will track what consumers do in their homes.

Cable operators are wary about being seen as trampling on consumer privacy and state that they don't plan to target based on any personally identifiable information, such as someone's name and address. Canoe also says the first ads it plans to roll out will use demographic data collected by outside companies.

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