Targeted Advertising Online Faces Privacy Concerns

Pitfalls await tech giants as they attempt to engineer the great leap forward into "targeted advertising" — marketing pitches that key off what individuals say and do online. Advertisers are hungry to reach consumers congregating at sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to socialize and access free content. Microsoft, Google and Yahoo all want to help advertisers track consumer behavior, then distribute product pitches dovetailing with an individual's interests.