If a privacy policy can be written and read electronically, then any other aspect of the terms and conditions applicable to an online transaction can also be encoded and negotiated automatically. With the benefit of a contracting protocol, the computer can focus our attention on the things we might not want to accept. That's why big companies that now implement opt-out privacy policies are so scared. Those same companies, which spend millions trying to get to know their customers, should actually be embracing this new language of electronic interaction. A protocol that tells you what a customer might agree to can also communicate what kind of product she is likely to buy, or what her portfolio looks like, or whether she has a history of spending real dollars online.
Communication is a two-way thing.
But it is hidden from the consumer's view. This has led to abuses, such as companies putting their competitors' names in the hidden meta-data to draw traffic from unsuspecting consumers trying to find a more famous brand. Trademark lawyers are having a field day debating whether it is an infringement to mention Playboy in the hidden electronic text of a web page. It's a short step from there to a world in which the very act of navigating to a website will become the equivalent of doing a deal. We might even extend this automated-negotiation scenario to journalism.