Today, the Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. PIRG filed detailed comments in the FTC inquiry into behavioral marketing, intrusive search advertising business models and the future of the Internet. We note that the entire inquiry is the result of our initial 2006 petition and we pose a solution that protects privacy while encouraging commerce on the web. Here is our lede:

The commission has failed to effectively protect U.S. consumer privacy in the digital marketing era. The commission's decision to issue its proposed staff principles on the same day it approved, 4-1, Google's acquisition of behavioral marketing and online ad giant DoubleClick -- without any privacy safeguards -- is not a coincidence. The commission—frankly under both the Bush and the Clinton administrations—has been largely incapable to take a meaningful stand on data collection and interactive marketing.