legislating Gmail

A few days ago it was news that a California state senator (Senator Figueroa) is drafting legislation that will block Gmail (if passed) because of her concerns over the privacy issue. That privacy concern is that the keyword scan of mail for targeted ad placement is an invasion of privacy, apparently of great magnitude to Senator Figueroa.

What I think - the Senator and her constituents can vote with their feet, if they don't like Gmail, they don't have to use it. This isn't just a knee-jerk reaction, Gmail doesn't invade privacy because it uses a computer to scan mail for keyword so as to place targeted ads, it doesn't keep records or use personally identifiable information. I've written more about this below, if you're interested.

Via Wired.