Yonkers, NY – Consumer Reports, with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, has named five public interest technology researchers to its inaugural Digital Lab Fellows cohort.

The Digital Lab Fellows program supports original research and testing around the privacy, security and fairness of consumer technologies. The 2020 cohort is focused on a range of emerging consumer harms, from connected devices to the data broker economy. 

“We are thrilled to welcome our inaugural cohort of Digital Lab Fellows to Consumer Reports. These fellows will generate research and findings that will inform public debates, raise companies’ standards, and ultimately empower consumers with better products and services,” said Ben Moskowitz, Director of the Digital Lab at Consumer Reports. 

“In an increasingly porous digital world, it is becoming critical to protect user privacy,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “We are proud to expand our partnership with Consumer Reports by supporting these talented technologists in the creation of new tools and methodologies focused on the fundamental right of consumer protection.”

Introducing the 2020-2021 Digital Lab Fellows

Kasia Chmielinski, Affiliate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University - Kasia will conduct research and build materials to support the Dataset Nutrition Label, a tool and framework that encourages conscious and appropriate use of datasets.

Daniel Dubois - Associate Research Scientist, Khoury College C&IS, Northeastern University - Daniel will create innovative IoT testing methodologies, with an initial emphasis on smart speakers, provide insight into IoT privacy exposures and provide mechanisms for mitigation.

Arunesh Mathur - Doctoral candidate in Computer Science, Princeton / CITP - Arunesh will build an internet-scale digital ad observatory, enabling new kinds of consumer protection research.

Roya Ensafi - Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan - Roya will lead the development of an innovative VPN test suite, and engage volunteers in large-scale testing.

Julien Gamba, PhD Student, IMDEA Networks - Julien will focus on increasing transparency of the Android supply chain by evaluating the pre-installed software and custom permissions enabled by vendors.

The Digital Lab, founded in 2019, develops new ways to test and report on digital products and services. It is a key driver of Consumer Reports’ work to build a fair and just marketplace that puts consumers’ interests first.

“We are looking forward to supporting the fellows as they develop the next generation of digital consumer protection research,” said Moskowitz. “And we’re hoping that their work will yield innovative testing methodologies that CR and other public interest organizations can build on over time.”

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