The Markup
Business Profile
Core Value Proposition
The Markup provides data-driven investigations and tools to reveal how technology influences society.
Target Customer
Communities, journalists, and researchers who check and build on The Markup's reporting.
Key Differentiator
Publishes datasets and methodologies (Blueprints) and offers real-time privacy tools (Blacklight) and companion tools (e.g., Amazon Brand Detector) to expose tech practices.
Implementation Timeline
Not specified in content
Pain Points
- 1Lack of transparency about how tech platforms use data and influence behavior
- 2Pervasive privacy tracking and data collection with limited user visibility
- 3Opaque or self-serving product practices (e.g., self-preferencing in search results)
Key Features
- 1Data-driven investigations and reporting
- 2Open datasets, methodologies, and recipes (Blueprints)
- 3Privacy-focused tools: Blacklight Real-Time Website Privacy Inspector, Blacklight Query CLI
- 4Browser tools and integrations (e.g., Amazon Brand Detector)
- 5Public-interest journalism aimed at policy impact and accountability
Target Customer Industries
Decision Makers
- 1President
Client Results
- 1Journalism has driven real-world changes in government policy and the removal of tracking technology
- 2Investigations have prompted lawmakers to demand explanations from companies and discuss regulatory actions
- 3News coverage of privacy practices has led to changes in company behavior (e.g., stopping certain data collection practices)
Competitive Advantages
- 1Public-facing transparency through published datasets and methodologies
- 2Ability to audit tech practices using open tools and datasets
- 3Impact-driven journalism with documented policy outcomes
- 4Open-source tools and community-reproducible workflows
Key Benefits
Case Studies & Success Stories
Data brokers face new pressure for hiding opt-out pages from Google
After investigations, several firms stopped hiding opt-out pages and a U.S. senator pressed for explanations.
We caught companies making it harder to delete your personal data online
The Markup's reporting led to increased scrutiny and some organizations changing their data-deletion practices.
How We Investigated UNOS’s Liver Allocation Policy
The investigation found that new requirements reduced transplants in poorer states while NY/CA saw gains, prompting policy scrutiny.
How California sent residents’ personal health data to LinkedIn
A Markup/CalMatters investigation found that Covered California transmitted health data (pregnancy, domestic abuse) to LinkedIn, raising privacy concerns.
Amazon’s Advantage – Puts Its Own Brands First in Search Results
The series documented Amazon’s self-preferencing of private label and exclusive products in search results.
Additional Product Information
Product Description
The Markup is a nonprofit newsroom that conducts data-driven investigations and publishes datasets, methodologies, and tooling to expose how technology affects society and to promote accountability and policy change.
Target Market
Communities, journalists, and researchers who rely on The Markup’s reporting and datasets to analyze tech impacts.
Unique Value Proposition
Public-interest investigations paired with openly available datasets and tools that empower users to verify findings, audit tech practices, and drive real-world policy outcomes.
Technical Requirements
Web-based interfaces for investigations and tools; Blacklight privacy inspector with a web UI and an open-source CLI (Blacklight Query); browser extensions like Amazon Brand Detector; supports multi-region deployments (as shown by location options).
Pricing Model
Donations and philanthropic support; The Markup relies on donations to power its work.
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