Home
About
Tags
Logo
Subscribe
Logo

Transparency

Getting platforms to share more about what they are doing with us

The landslide US election gives me hope for online democracy

Nov 6, 2026

•

5 min read

The landslide US election gives me hope for online democracy

Tech regulation is back on the menu, boys! Here’s a quick look at the bills and legislators to watch when the new Congress meets in January.

Meta’s new settlement with the states should only be the first step toward real regulation.

Aug 28, 2026

•

4 min read

Meta’s new settlement with the states should only be the first step toward real regulation.

The Meta settlement requires limited oversight of Instagram and Facebook for just five years. Making it permanent, independent, and industry-wide requires a law.

What if the path to open social media runs through creators, not communities?

Jul 24, 2026

•

5 min read

What if the path to open social media runs through creators, not communities?

In 1992, Marvel’s top artists flexed their power to break the comic book industry wide open. The best way to open up the Internet today might be to get today’s biggest creators on our side in the same way.

The Platformocracy: what is it, why is it bad, and how do we fix it?

Jun 12, 2026

•

7 min read

The Platformocracy: what is it, why is it bad, and how do we fix it?

Internet platforms have become our unelected governments. They should be subject to the laws of the communities they serve, not the will of their owners. Summarizing my first year of posts.

New data shows platforms use terms of service to subvert the rule of law

Mar 20, 2026

•

8 min read

New data shows platforms use terms of service to subvert the rule of law

My rants about online due process are not purely theoretical. Data from the ASML Transparency Hub, compiled by students at Boston University, show that platforms are quietly cutting you off from your country’s justice system and forcing you to accept theirs.

Due process transparency, continued: does safety require secrecy?

Feb 20, 2026

•

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.

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

Feb 13, 2026

•

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.

Guest Post: A Former Meta Integrity Leader Fights For Transparency

Nov 14, 2025

•

7 min read

Guest Post: A Former Meta Integrity Leader Fights For Transparency

Rob Leathern saw fraud and harm up-close at both Meta and Google. Now he’s started a non-profit to shine a light on the dark places. He and I trade newsletters this week.

Rant: Meta is earning billions from scams and fraud. Their lack of transparency is an insult.

Nov 7, 2025

•

10 min read

Rant: Meta is earning billions from scams and fraud. Their lack of transparency is an insult.

Meta’s newly-revealed carelessness is egregious, but their bullshit response is the Platformocracy at its worst. I am pissed. Welcome to what my coworkers used to call a “Bellack Special.”

Unchecked Surveillance In The Name Of Safety Is Dangerous

Jul 11, 2025

•

6 min read

Unchecked Surveillance In The Name Of Safety Is Dangerous

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

Cannes Special: How Google’s Ad Spam Secrecy Alienated A Generation Of Creators

Jun 13, 2025

•

8 min read

Cannes Special: How Google’s Ad Spam Secrecy Alienated A Generation Of Creators

In its prime, AdSense could give you financial freedom — if you could survive the spam police.

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

© 2026 Jonathan Bellack.
beehiivPowered by beehiiv