stephan.com
scattered thoughts

Much has been made of Google’s entry into the Chinese market with culturally sensitive controls in place, best of all in the official Human Rights Caucus briefing. While there are issues, I think this is the best possible solution. Western values are not universal, and better to have a censored version (for now!) than nothing.

What I found most interesting about the briefing was this statement:

Other products – such as Gmail and Blogger – that involve personal and confidential information will be introduced only when we are comfortable that we can provide them in a way that protects users’ expectations about that information.

What could that mean? How can you provide email to users without full privacy?

Companies such as Covenant Eyes offer a “accountability” service that, in effect, uses social networking for censorship. Simply, a user can choose to have a monthly accounting of their web surfing sent to a trusted partner. The primary market for this service is Christian men who are fighting pornography addiction.

I see an opportunity here. Perhaps Google (or another provider) could offer email that is semi-private - readable by your nearest neighbors in your social web. Users would sign up via a recommendation, and that recommender would have read privileges to the user’s email. Users could then invite others to be in their social circle as well. While the system can be hacked, the idea is that social pressure will discourage this. Try telling your wife why she can’t read your email!

This system strikes me, personally, as abhorrent - I value my privacy. I can see where it has social advantages, however, and might be better than simply allowing the government to spy on email. There is no privacy, but the user understands this from the beginning. Further, it seems like this might adapt well to a culture that values group action at the expense of individuality - more like blogging than email.

There is an interesting parallel to The Truth Machine, a novel in which the invention of an infallible lie detector leads to a social revolution. Once this machine is released, privacy is virtually unknown, but society adapts to a new, more transparent structure. It scares me - but perhaps that sort of transparency would be a good thing.