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11 Harv. Negot. L. Rev. 253 (2006)
Technology's Impact: The Quest for a New Paradigm for Accountability in Mediation

handle is hein.journals/haneg11 and id is 257 raw text is: Technology's Impact: The Quest for a New Paradigm for Accountability in Mediation Orna Rabinovich-Einyt INTRODUCTION In the annals of the online universe, eBay's rise from an obscure website for the exchange of collectibles to a flourishing business and community with over one hundred million registered users in one hundred-fifty countries' is a familiar story. However, there is a lesser known side to eBay's success-the company's decision to en- dorse and offer to its users, early in its development, the services of SquareTrade, an online dispute resolution (ODR) provider, for the resolution of grievances among eBay users. The SquareTrade story is significant for several reasons: it un- derscores the need for effective online dispute resolution systems in a connected society; it provides a demonstration of one context in which ODR has proven successful despite initial skepticism; and most sig- nificantly for the thesis of this Article, it affords fresh insights into what has seemed like an insoluble dilemma in the mediation world- how to reconcile the need for accountability with mediation's core fea- tures of confidentiality and flexibility. On one level, SquareTrade reflects the need for effective mecha- nisms for resolving online disputes, given the increasing number of activities, commercial and social, that take place on the Internet. E- commerce has grown exponentially over the last decade, expanding t Assistant Professor of Law, Haifa University. This Article draws on a doc- toral dissertation written at Columbia Law School under the title From Settlement to Justice: Dispute Resolution in the Internet Age. The ideas and comments I re- ceived from Eben Moglen, Carol Liebman, Susan Sturm, Robert Ferguson, Ethan Katsh, Colin Rule, Faina Milman, Joseph Triebwasser, and Itamar Rabinovich, were indispensable. Without the helpful collaboration of Cara Cherry-Lisco, Elizabeth Cle- mants, and Nate Lipscomb, this work would not have been possible. My exchanges with them were stimulating and enriching. Finally, a special thanks to the editors at the Harvard Negotiation Law Review for their thoughtful comments. 1. EBay Global Trade, http://pages.ebay.com/globaltrading/seller (last visited Jan. 9, 2005). 253

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