NEW YORK -- Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy.

NEW YORK -- Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy.

NEW YORK -- Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy.

Privacy advocates say the move doesn't go far enough. Websites fear it goes too far. Yahoo Inc. said Friday that it would allow consumers to opt out of targeted advertising on Yahoo.com amid increasing congressional scrutiny about consumer privacy on the Web.

Though the ink has hardly dried on the ad partnership deal between Google and Yahoo, Congress is already setting its investigative machinery in motion to determine whether the tie-up might violate antitrust or privacy laws. The partnership "highlights the need to examine what risks agreements such as these pose to consumer privacy," said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.

Though the ink has hardly dried on the ad partnership deal between Google and Yahoo, Congress is already setting its investigative machinery in motion to determine whether the tie-up might violate antitrust or privacy laws. The partnership "highlights the need to examine what risks agreements such as these pose to consumer privacy," said Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. lawmakers said they will examine Microsoft Corp.'s proposed $44.6 billion takeover of Yahoo! Inc. to determine whether the combination would hurt competition and consumer privacy.