From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Is there any such thing as privacy on the Internet?

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Poet from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Internet spying has become big business, more pervasive and far more intrusive than all but a few people know. That's from an extensive study by the Wall Street Journal, which reports that companies track users in real time so they can advertise instantly. They can learn all about you, not just your shopping interests,

but your financial and medical conditions,

even what you're telling your friends on social networks.

Are there benefits for consumers?

What are the prospects for abuse?

Is there any way to opt out?

Would new government rules make a difference?

On reporter's notebook later on,

shake-ups at the Obama White House. First, here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren. I'll knee back with To The Point.

Tracking consumers on the Internet and selling detailed profiles is a $400 million

business expected to double this year.

Advertisers have real-time access to whatever you're doing online.

Will new privacy laws be needed to restore consumer confidence?

Is there any good news about this kind of intrusion?

On reporter's notebook at the Obama White House, is it Bill Clinton all over again?

First, this news update, for the first time in history,

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