We give safety ratings to cars and restaurants. Why not do the same to protect our digital lives?

Digital zoning could give consumers the power to make more informed decisions about their safety and privacy, without the heavy hand of government.

The American economy runs on what are known as heuristics, a diverse array of mental short-cuts that help consumers make a dizzying number of choices to navigate the wild complexity of everyday life. These shortcuts help us select the restaurants we may choose to patronize, the cars we drive, the food we purchase, and the schools we attend and to which we send our children. We rely on scoring systems, certifications, and ranking methodologies to consider what movies to see, what music to listen to, and whether to purchase fair-trade products. These shortcuts come in many forms, from the complex (like the tools used to rate bonds and other financial products) to the straightforward (like the letter grades that many municipalities generate to inform consumers whether a particular restaurant follows safe food-handling practices).