individual Web

The chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet said he thinks online monitoring services working on behalf of the advertising community should be required to obtain clear approval before tracking the online activities of individuals.

There are notable differences between the typical data gathering that individual Web sites conduct and those deploying deep-packet technologies in broadband networks, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) noted during a hearing on the impact of deep-packet technologies on consumers, Internet service providers, and the Internet.

When he was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year, Dave deBronkart needed an easy way to keep his far-flung friends and family updated. So did the president of the American Medical Association when he fell ill months ago. And so did the mother of a soldier wounded in Iraq who later suffered brain damage.

They all turned to the Internet, setting up individual Web sites to give progress reports. In return, they get posted notes of encouragement and support -- all without having to repeat the details in emotional and exhausting phone calls.