The Federal Trade Commission indicated Wednesday that it would leave it to data-mining Web companies and Internet marketers to decide how best to protect users’ privacy. “Self-regulation may be the preferable approach for this dynamic marketplace,” Lydia Parnes, the director of the commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, told a Senate committee. The FTC’s decision not to step in — even as Microsoft and Google representatives testified that some regulation would be helpful — means that Washington won’t address the matter before a new administration and Congress take office in January. At issue is what privacy rights consumers have when data-mining companies use their Web browsing patterns to target them for ads. It’s a gold mine for online advertising and Internet marketing, but consumer and e-privacy groups say it’s intrusive. More
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