San Francisco’s public health officials have found a less personal way to tell a stranger embarrassing and sometimes life changing news. A new program called “InSpot” will notify casual sexual partners if you have contracted a sexually transmitted disease through an anonymous email. The controversial program was tested first in the gay mecca because of its “higher than average” rate of STD transmission.

Opponents of the program believe that the humorous messages will prompt people to take the matter less seriously, leading to an increased spreading of sexually transmitted disease. In the interest of privacy, the emails are sent without notifying the receiver who the message came from, making it easy for people to send them out as pranks. California officials defend the program by saying that the messages are meant to spread awareness and have been instrumental at convincing higher numbers of people to get tested for HIV.

The InSpot website, found at Inspot.org, also provides resources for STD testing and information on prevention and education. Los Angeles health officials have also recently adopted the service, with Indianapolis, Seattle and Philadelphia soon to follow. New laws dealing with the transmission of personal health information and HIV notification are expected to block the service in a handful of states.

A Not-So New Epidemic

San Francisco health authorities cite research that shows people who use “hook-up” websites to meet potential partners are twice as likely to contract “minor” infections such as Chlamydia or Syphilis, and three times as likely to contract HIV. With a smaller “pool” of people using these services for sexual encounters and fewer people being tested every year for infectious diseases, the problem may be more widespread than initially believed. “Up to 25 percent of people infected with HIV have no idea they are infected until it develops into an advanced stage.” A spokesperson for the California Health Department stated. The fear is that these unaware parties will continue having risky sex and possibly cause an epidemic.

Despite vast measures to offer testing and education about sexually transmitted diseases, infection has raised nine percent in the past year. It is believed that up to 40 percent of sexually active people have never been tested for HIV or other STDS.