• The Washington Post, Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:16 AM

In a series of letters to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Google and several other leading Internet companies admitted to using advertising targeting technology without telling consumers. Lawmakers had asked more than 30 Internet companies to reveal how they collect the data they use to target ads.

According to the Washington Post, the disclosures were enough for some lawmakers and privacy advocates to start calling for an overarching online privacy law. "Increasingly, there are no limits technologically as to what a company can do in terms of collecting information . . . and then selling it as a commodity to other providers," said committee member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). "Our responsibility is to make sure that we create a law that, regardless of the technology, includes a set of legal guarantees that consumers have with respect to their information."

Markey added that he and other members of Congress plan to introduce legislation next year that would require consumers to opt in to data tracking and sharing programs. Other committee leaders worried that such legislation would damage the economy. Instead, they suggested a middle ground whereby the industry would continue to self-regulate, but place a greater focus on transparency and consumer choice.

Read the whole story at The Washington Post »