WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV issued the following statement concerning reports that Google and other advertising companies have been tracking online users who surf the Internet with Apple’s Safari Internet browser:

“According to press reports, Google circumvented consumer choice and may have paved the way for third-party ad networks—including Google’s own DoubleClick—to track consumers against their will.  If so, this practice may have violated the company’s own stated privacy practices.  I fully intend to look into this matter and determine the extent to which this practice was used by Google and other third parties to circumvent consumer choice.”

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