• Ad Age, Thursday, December 2, 2010 11:30 AM

With the head of the Federal Trade Commission arguing that self-regulation has not worked to keep private the online browsing of Internet users, the panel has unveiled a plan for a universal "do not track" plan that would let people decide whether they want to be tracked. Today, a House subcommittee is hearing the matter separately.

The Digital Advertising Alliance, comprised of several advertising and marketing trade groups representing more than 5,000 corporations, initiated an opt-out effort last month that would allow for the prohibition of targeting. But the FTC says efforts aren't moving fast enough and supports an opt-out mechanism for collection and not just targeting.

Still, the matter is complex since third parties collect data for reasons other than advertising, including email log-in verification and traffic data such as Google Analytics.

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