Two consumer groups have requested the Federal Trade Commission to create a ‘do not track list’ that would enable Internet users to prevent advertisers from collecting personal information about them. The Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union also urged the FTC to block the compilation of health information and other susceptible data by firms that do business on the Internet without the free consent of the user.

In December, the FTC gave a go ahead to Google’s purchase of advertising rival DoubleClick in spite of strong objections of some privacy groups. At the same time, the agency coaxed advertisers to let computer users block advertisers from collecting their personal information. This was to be done with the aim of providing ‘practical security’.

As a reaction to the FTC on online behavioural advertising, advertisers believed that self-regulation was more preferable instead of the government dictating on how the user’s personal data will be collected, what kind of disclosures are required to be made to computer users, or how long the information will be stored. Advertisers also questioned whether the FTC and the privacy groups have any statistics on whether any harm had been done to the users by the data collected.