Introduction

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday proposed a plan to let consumers choose whether they want their Internet browsing monitored by online businesses and advertisers. The practice is largely invisible, and many consumers are unaware that their online activity is tracked for targeted ads. The commission encourages Web sites to adopt a simple, easy-to-understand “do not track” mechanism that would give consumers the type of control they gained over marketers with the national “do not call” registry.

Should there be federal legislation to enforce this approach -- and would that work? (Many telemarketers manage to work around the "do not call" registry, despite federal regulations.) Would giving consumers an opt-out from tracking alter e-commerce?