online advertising industry

In the wake of news that Google is introducing behavioral targeting of advertisements, a Democratic congressman from Virginia is renewing his suggestion that new consumer-protection legislation may be needed to rein in data collection.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) said he is working with Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), to craft a bill to require online companies to notify consumers of tracking activity. All three congressmen are members of the Internet subcommittee in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which Boucher chairs.

A Recycled Proposal

Microsoft is a fascinating company with a storied history. No matter the market, it seems to stumble out of the gate before finally building something compelling enough to leave competitors in the dust.

The first few versions of Windows were nothing to get excited about, but as Microsoft released subsequent versions, it became something that today is on 90 percent of all desktop computers.

The U.S. Senate opened hearings on a pending Yahoo-Google partnership Tuesday. The Antitrust, Competition and Consumer Rights committee means to put the screws to each party's legal counsel in an attempt to determine whether the deal violates antitrust laws.

Google is the number-one search site, while Yahoo currently hosts the second most popular site. Ad revenues from searches are a multibillion-dollar market. Lawmakers want to ensure that a deal between these giant players won't jeopardize free competition.

On Thursday, Yahoo reached a deal with Google to advance the company's open strategy in the search and display marketplace.

Yahoo will run Google-supplied ads alongside its own search results and on some of its Web properties in the U.S. and Canada. The agreement is non-exclusive, giving Yahoo the ability to display paid search results from Google, other third parties, and Yahoo's own Panama marketplace.