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Identity

Who you are online. Your ideas, your relationships, your reputation, your property.

Can we regulate or spend our way to Exit? Lessons from Europe, Utah, and Project Liberty

Oct 31, 2025

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9 min read

Can we regulate or spend our way to Exit? Lessons from Europe, Utah, and Project Liberty

The EU has regulated data portability, but the US is dragging its heels. A deep-pocketed benefactor has put $500 million into the fight, but is even a large fortune enough to make a difference?

More on Exit: competition is just one click away, unless it threatens our Daily Active Users metric

Oct 24, 2025

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8 min read

More on Exit: competition is just one click away, unless it threatens our Daily Active Users metric

Big social media platforms brag about their tools that let you download your data, but without import or forwarding, it’s a red herring. Companies could easily make this better.

Explainer #3: The First Person Project could be the future of online identity

Oct 10, 2025

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10 min read

Explainer #3: The First Person Project could be the future of online identity

A new project with a long pedigree promises to put trust at the center of the Internet. I attempt to summarize their epic 80-page white paper in one post.

Private, community, public: online identity should not be one size fits all

Oct 3, 2025

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8 min read

Private, community, public: online identity should not be one size fits all

Today’s platforms don’t give us enough choice and control over expressing, or requiring, identity in different situations. Based on work of colleagues at Google, I propose a matrix of options to start a more nuanced discussion.

There is no online safety without anonymity

Sep 26, 2025

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10 min read

There is no online safety without anonymity

Last week, I said we need real-world identity online. This week, I rebut myself. Nobody said this Internet thing was going to be easy.

If an account is not a person, then you don’t have to treat it with respect

Sep 19, 2025

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8 min read

If an account is not a person, then you don’t have to treat it with respect

Free, anonymous online accounts let bad guys proliferate and platforms pretend we are disposable. Real-world identity requirements could help us reclaim our digital selves.

Can we protect the Internet without revealing our real-world identities?

Sep 12, 2025

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9 min read

Can we protect the Internet without revealing our real-world identities?

Free, anonymous online accounts are a cornerstone of the Internet. Fraud and child safety fears are putting that principle to the test.

Account Terminations Are Easy, But Unjust

Sep 5, 2025

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9 min read

Account Terminations Are Easy, But Unjust

Violate a policy, lose your account. Simple, right? A tactic born to handle mass fraud has ended up hurting real people who are dependent on platforms for community and storage.

How tech companies became unelected governments and what to do about it, as told by a former Google executive.

© 2025 Jonathan Bellack.

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