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Privacy

Surveillance and data collection by governments and private entities.

Practical Exit: It’s time for regulators to require social graph portability

May 22, 2026

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5 min read

Practical Exit: It’s time for regulators to require social graph portability

We’ve had mobile phone number portability for twenty years. We now have proven technology to help move your online friends and followers in a secure and privacy-preserving way. If platforms won’t implement it, we should demand regulation to make it mandatory.

Reader mailbag #3: age verification follow-up

May 1, 2026

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4 min read

Reader mailbag #3: age verification follow-up

Reader feedback on my piece criticizing social media age verification, plus more bumps on the road in the EU and Australia.

Palantir offers us Guardianship at gunpoint

Apr 24, 2026

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5 min read

Palantir offers us Guardianship at gunpoint

The influential data integration / AI intelligence company Palantir has published a 22-point manifesto. It's just another tired argument that tech execs should be in charge of society, except for the implicit threat of violence if we don't comply.

Why I don’t like age verification for social media

Apr 17, 2026

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5 min read

Why I don’t like age verification for social media

Age verification laws for social media are sweeping the world. The EU just announced their own solution is ready to go. I am worried that we are making big platforms stronger without being clear about what problem we’re trying to solve.

How is your Instagram account like a hotel room?

Mar 27, 2026

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8 min read

How is your Instagram account like a hotel room?

Data in our online accounts should be protected from unreasonable search and seizure just like luggage in a hotel room, according to a new US Supreme Court amicus brief from Harvard’s Cyberlaw Clinic and an old Google colleague. This could be extended to expand ownership and data portability rights.

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.

Unchecked Surveillance In The Name Of Safety Is Dangerous

Jul 11, 2025

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6 min read

Unchecked Surveillance In The Name Of Safety Is Dangerous

Online policing could be corrupted and we’d never know.

Platformocracy Pre-History: Social Media Dumpster Fires

Jun 2, 2025

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8 min read

Platformocracy Pre-History: Social Media Dumpster Fires

In September 2024, I gave a talk at Harvard that foreshadowed this newsletter. Here's a key excerpt.

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

© 2026 Jonathan Bellack.
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