Proposed Online Privacy Bill Stirs Debate

Advertisers and internet companies have been scrambling to head off regulation they say will hamper growth of online advertising. The pressure is expected to build as lawmakers prepare to announce proposed privacy legislation. More than a year in the making, the draft legislation proposes regulating internet companies' tactics for collecting information about Web visitors and the use of that data for ad targeting. It also could apply to the practices for collecting consumers' information in the offline world.