Later Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Commerce Committee is holding a hearing to continue its inquiry into consumer complaints regarding mystery charges connected to the membership offers that pop up after a transaction is completed. Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.V.) has sent letters requesting information to 16 Web merchants, including Orbitz, PizzaHut.com and Priceline. The inquiry hinges on their data-sharing relationships with Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty, the firms that promote the membership programs.

Ahead of the hearing, Affinion today announced changes to its policies that aim to ensure consumers aren't tricked into signing up for a fee-based service, and to placate the lawmakers who have been conducting a months-long inquiry.

Finally, we revisit the great privacy debate. Thursday morning has a joint House subcommittee hearing is scheduled to consider the privacy implications of both online and offline advertising.

Thursday's hearing will be the third House proceeding devoted to the issue this year, an inquiry that is expected to result in a potentially far-ranging privacy bill that could rein in the practices of Internet advertisers.

To help set the stage, several privacy-rights groups that like to sound grave warnings of Big Brother data-collection practices are holding a briefing for congressional staffers Monday morning.