People concerned about privacy have alternatives. Anonymizer services, for instance, that can mask online activities are available on the Web.
AOL ignited a furor last year when it inadvertently released more than 20 million queries made by 658,000 users. Scrutiny of search engine privacy practices increased when Google refused to comply with a Justice Department subpoena seeking consumer search data.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction
Internet privacy: An article in the Business section on Tuesday about an Ask.com privacy initiative said nearly 700,000 users protested a Facebook.com feature that tracked and published for friends to see what members purchased online. The correct number was 70,000.
In Washington, lawmakers and regulators are examining the privacy implications of Google's proposed $3.1-billion purchase of Internet advertising broker DoubleClick Inc. because both companies track and store so much consumer information.
This month, after nearly 700,000 people joined an online protest, social networking website Facebook.com began allowing users to turn off a feature that tracked what they purchased online and published the information for friends to see.
"If people understand the privacy risk to them, they speak up," said Ari Schwartz, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington.
"People are paying more attention to these issues."
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jessica.guynn@latimes.com.
