Getting opt-in permission to collect personal data may not be a difficult requirement for Google, which gets most of its revenue from search-related advertising, he said. Search advertising, unlike much other Web-based advertising, doesn't depend on collecting personal data to deliver ads.

Opt-in permission is a "path to destruction for the American leadership in free online services," DelBianco said. Targeted online advertising pays for free Web content and services, but many users would likely not opt into online tracking for advertising purposes, he said.

"The ultimate loser becomes the very same consumer these privacy advocates think they're protecting," he added.

The IDG News Service