This week’s column carries what in the news business is called a dateline, signifying physical presence. Physical presence? Isn’t this the digital era, when we’re all happy to be cocooned in our own online worlds, no longer requiring human interactions?

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The last time cookies became a matter of public debate was when the “Sesame Street” character Cookie Monster was accused of encouraging poor eating habits among toddlers. Today’s controversial cookies are the small text files that track where people go online. Web sites do a poor job of explaining how and why this information is used, even as details about our lives are increasingly knowable online. Risks to privacy make this a race between smarter self-regulation on the Web and threatened new regulation by the Federal Trade Commission.

Most privacy advocates understand that advertising pays for the otherwise free Web, but worry that cookies can be used for more than matching advertising to individual interests. Some want a “do not track” approach on the Web, similar to the “do not call” rules that block unwanted marketing phone calls. This sounds attractive but could undercut much of the marketing power of the Web.

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