For its part, the American Civil Liberties Union anticipates increasing its Internet privacy advocacy in the coming months, spokesman Jay Stanley said. He said problems associated with behavioral advertising are worsening and his group expects to have more time on its hands in the Obama administration to handle that since concerns over warrantless wiretapping and other government overreaches have receded from the foreground they occupied during George W. Bush's term.

While the Federal Trade Commission praised the new industry guidelines the commission is "waiting to see how these principles play out," FTC attorney Peder Magee said. On the industry side, the principles are being positioned as rendering legislation unnecessary. Lee Peeler, executive vice president at the Better Business Bureau, which will help enforce the principles, pointed to Web site privacy policies as an example of industry regulating even in the absence of federal statutes. "Almost every Web site in the country has a privacy policy on it now," Peeler said. -- Sara Jerome