A weekly newsletter that tells the story of how tech companies became unelected governments and what to do about it, by former Google executive and 30-year Internet veteran Jonathan Bellack.

Posts

Mar 6, 2026

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9 min read

Explainer #6: How population growth forced democracy to evolve

Democracies worldwide are struggling with the scale and velocity of the modern world, and online platforms are bigger than most countries. Looking at history shows that the size of a community changes democracy, but doesn't mean we need to abandon it.

Feb 27, 2026

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9 min read

Magna Carta proves we deserve the rule of law online. No, really.

Rabble’s Social Media Bill of Rights sent me down a rabbit hole to the grand-daddy of declarations – Magna Carta, issued in England by King John in 1215. Its most radical turn of phrase points the way to online democracy today.

Feb 20, 2026

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9 min read

Due process transparency, continued: does safety require secrecy?

Last week, I dodged the difficult question of whether transparency would help bad actors more than the rest of us. Secrecy is necessary today, but only as a band-aid on an enormous self-inflicted wound: easy, open account sign-ups.

Feb 13, 2026

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8 min read

Let’s build due process! Part 3: Transparency should be the default, not the exception

Public information about user status, terminated accounts, and policy enforcement would help online communities build a sense of history, instead of living in a perpetual present. This would build trust in platforms and reduce the need for crisis communications.

Feb 6, 2026

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11 min read

Let’s build due process! Part 2: A workflow that works

This is the big one - my proposal to restore user trust in the account termination process without breaking the bank. Ask your favorite platform for this. Or if you work at a platform, maybe even give it a try.