New regulations, including an being considered by the FTC, could hurt e-commerce and advertising, while delivering intangible benefits, Lenard said. So far, groups expressing concern with websites and ad networks tracking user behavior have shown few negative consequences, he said.

"After more than 10 years of talking about this, we're talking about hypothetical harms, rather than a lot of real harms," he added.

But new regulations could lead to fewer targeted ads, less effective ads and lower quality Web content, he said.

A new position in the Obama administration to coordinate privacy policy wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea, however, Lenard said. Privacy is an important policy issue that the administration should be focused on, he said. "Obviously, if it's a policy I disagree with, I might prefer that they have no policy," he added.

On the other side of the U.S. privacy policy spectrum, privacy advocate Jeffrey Chester questioned the Department of Commerce's push to become the central agency in charge of privacy policy. That approach raises questions about a continued FTC role in enforcing privacy rules, he said.