• USA Today, Thursday, November 2, 2006 11:30 AM

The Center for Digital Democracy today is expected to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission asking it to investigate the practices of online advertisers, which the agency says threaten Web users' privacy. Specifically, it wants the FTC to force companies to halt what it calls "deceptive practices" and urge Congress to pass legislation reinforcing consumer privacy protection.

Jeff Chester, executive director of the CDD, says hundreds of companies now track consumers online--grabbing information about the reading, spending and other habits that endanger personal privacy. He adds that the companies' privacy policies don't adequately do the job. The draft complaint singles out Microsoft's adCenter, specifically, for using consumer data gathered from each of Microsoft's MSN properties to target ads to consumers. Predictably, Microsoft dismissed the center's allegations, saying its privacy policy is "very open."

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