Time Warner's AOL and Internet giant Google were among 33 technology companies  responding to data gathering privacy questioning by the United States House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has seen growing bipartisan support for legislation granting consumers the right to know what data Web firms track about them and to decline participation in online tracking systems. Yahoo And Broadband Providers Also Questions On August 1 the House Committee gave Yahoo, Google, AOL, and Internet firms including broadband providers such as Qwest Communication, Comcast, Cox  Communications and Charter Communications one week to submit information about their online advertising data collection practices. While more than a dozen of the companies asked to respond told the committee that they do not use targeted advertising that is derived from the Web activities of consumers, others such as Yahoo said that they do practice behavioral targeting with an option allowing users to opt out. Responses from some of the firms questioned indicated that certain Internet users have had their Web activities tracked and used for targeted advertising without straightforward notification, according to letters released Monday by the committee. In its response, leading Internet advertising services Google pointed to a program it announced last week that allows online advertisers to control and track how many times people see their ads using a technique called frequency capping, and to measure how often users visit their Web sites after seeing them, by integrating ad tracking technology from DoubleClick, the advertising giant it purchased for $3.1 billion in March. Google Touts DoubleClick Tracking Cookie Program When the enhancements take effect consumers will be able to choose whether or not  to have their ad interaction histories in Google's content network shared with advertisers, through the use of a single combined Google DoubleClick Web browser tracking cookie, a small computer file containing a variety of information about browsing. "With one click, users can opt out of a single cookie for both DoubleClick ad serving and the Google content network," Moonka said of an expanded version of the existing DoubleClick cookie, that Google plans to use so that "advertisers and publishers don't have to make any changes on their websites." The data gathering inquiry may help strengthen the case for online privacy legislation, according to some privacy groups and lawmakers. "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 Massachusetts Representative Edward J. Markey, a member of the committee and 30 plus year member of Congress. Online Privacy Bill Of Rights Seen As Likely "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. While Markey and other committee members have expressed their desire to push for  Internet data gathering privacy legislation next year, some committee members have warned that a so-called online-privacy Bill of Rights, which would require that Web firms keep tracking systems turned off for all U.S. consumers unless they specifically ask to be tracked, could hamper growth among smaller technology companies. In its letter of response, Alan Davidson, Google's director of public policy and government affairs, told the committee that his company supported adoption of a privacy law to protect consumers, complete with "penalties in place to punish and dissuade bad actors." Google added that its advertising is contextual in nature, and not based on Web browsing history, and noted that it "does not deliver advertising based on deep-packet inspection." Deep-packet inspection, a controversial technique used by companies such as NebuAd and Phorm, has caused concern among privacy advocates for over-reaching tracking practices. AOL And Google Among Web Firms Facing Government Privacy Inquiry Google said that while it saw certain advantages to behavioral targeting, the practice wasn't a key area for the search giant. "Though it is  not the focus of our business today, we also believe that behavioral advertising can be done in ways that are responsible and protective of consumer privacy and the security of consumers' information," Google said in its letter of response. Microsoft has not yet responded to the committee's request. One member of WebmasterWorld's community of mostly technically savvy webmasters and search engine marketing (SEM) professionals, using the handle "HugeNerd," wondered whether the vast amount information being gathered by firms such as Google might someday become available to governments or other organizations interested for reasons beyond advertising. "How long before this information is used for purposes other than advertising/profit?" the member asked. Texas Representative Joe Barton said that he saw increased online privacy legislation as inevitable. "A broad approach to protecting people’s online privacy seems both desirable and inevitable," Barton said. Related Links:
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