1. Opting in versus opting out: Consumers, at a minimum, deserve the right to choose whether to be tracked--to opt-in. All I'm arguing for is the real option to tell advertisers to go away, not to track me, and to stop displaying ads based on my online behavior.

That’s what the do-not-track measures proposed in Congress and in California provide. Both call for Websites to get opt-in permission from users before collecting personal data. Proposed regulations would also require Web companies to inform users of their data collection and tracking efforts, and would allow civil lawsuits against companies that failed to comply with the regulations.

It’s not time to be whistling in the dark, arguing “I love playing Plants vs. Zombies online for free, so screw my own privacy.”

2. I’m not paranoid--the threat is real: New methods of data harvesting, coupled with new online advertising techniques, push the privacy envelope way too far. At the heart of these privacy-busting trends is advertisers' desire to track your interests on the Web and display what are called behavior-based ads.

Advertisers have gone way beyond cookies, and are collecting the “public” data we post on social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn to target ads more effectively. But might your Facebook status ever be used by a credit agency, health-care provider, or future employer to determine if you are a good bet? See my May 2010 story called "" for a list of companies engaged in such practices today.