But in testimony to a Senate panel mulling privacy bills, AOL urged lawmakers to stop short of mandating that consumers “opt in” — make an informed decision — before data collected about them online could be used for purposes other than the transaction at hand.

“In the diverse online marketplace, we believe it is impossible to mandate a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to consumer choice,” George Vradenburg, AOL’s senior vice president for global policy, told the Senate Commerce Committee.

One of the chief criticisms of the “opt-out” regime favored by AOL is that it typically involves wading though a convoluted process to curb third-party use of data on personal tastes and behavior.