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Bull.[censored].

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This post has been edited by starbus: 05 July 2012 - 08:23 AM

The concept of "Self Regulation" is both a red herring and a non sequitur. Consider all the data being gathered for many purposes at all of the web sites that you visit. Some of the data is needed simply to observe your page transitions through an online purchase, other data is being used to direct advertising to you far into the future, and other data is being used for things that you would decidedly avoid--if you had any say it he decision!. But the problem with self regulation is that the trustworthy 'white hats' aren't the ones that will violate voluntary standards. It is the deceitful web sites or those that are inadvertently partnered with harvesting and analytics processes that cause concern.

There is indeed a solution to the problem. The solution is a nascent science that is just now getting off the ground. It permits accumulation and actions on data with a surprising twist: No tracking at all and no potential to misuse the data, whatsoever. The very notion of an anonymous data pool providing targeted results has retarded development in the field for several years. The claim and benefit sound unlikely.

Fortunately, Google and other large service providers are cozying up to the new mathematics, called Blind Signaling and Response. It is to Privacy what RSA is to security (think "https"). It changes the privacy problem from policy & trust into a technical issue that can protect everyone. It will allow Google and others to unequivocally prove that they are among the good guys, while still generating value for users and profits for their marketers and stakeholders.

Currently, there is very little online resources about Blind Signaling and Response. A reasonable layperson explanation is at awildduck.com.
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Ellery Davies clarifies the intersection of Technology, Law and Public Policy. He is a contributor to PCWorld, Wall Street Journal, CNet and Yahoo. He is also the editor of A Wild Duck.

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This post has been edited by starbus: 05 July 2012 - 08:25 AM

And this here fox and this here wolf, we'll just give them a couple of shotguns so that they can guard the chicken coop while we're down the creek fishin'.