—Focus is on search, ad nets—not ISPs: Stearns himself warned lawmakers to tread carefully, since any legislation could make things tougher for struggling online businesses in this dismal economy. However, he did signal an approach that would zero in on the activities of search engines and ad networks, as opposed to cable providers. It was complaints over cable operator Charter Communications (NSDQ: CHTR) proposed test of its ISP broadband customers that ignited last year’s Congressional hearings.

—Opposition gets into place: Reps from AT&T (NYSE: T), the trade group National Cable and Telecommunications Association, and mobile social platform Loopt, all pressed their case for no legislative action. Targeters have tended to argue that they only use a small amount of the data they collect. Of course, if legislation is to be written, they want a hand in crafting it.

Leslie Harris, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology tried to blunt the companies’ arguments against pursuing a consumer privacy law, saying, “Just because ISPs or advertising networks may use only a small portion of what is captured and do not retain other information does not diminish the breadth and intrusiveness of the initial data capture.” It’s not just Congress that’s scrutinizing behavioral targeting; the FTC and state legislatures have been aggressively looking at the issue. In the end, Congressional action might be the best thing for the industry, since a patchwork of local laws would only lead to even more headaches for companies over privacy.