The Future of Consumer-Authorized AI Agents
Last week, Consumer Reports and the Stanford Digital Economy Lab at the Human-Centered AI Institute co-hosted a workshop exploring the future of...
Blog Posts
Found 257 posts
Should Humane’s Asset Sale Orphan an IoT Device?
This week buyers of a $699 connected AI pin will see their investment turn into so much e-waste, a little over a year after it was first available...
Building Consumer Agency
Agentic AI has profound implications for every part of society. A world in which everyone has access to a personal AI tutor means big changes to...
AI News & Marketplace Roundup: Disruption, Regulation & the Rise of Agentic AI
Last month, I explored AI’s growing influence and challenges. This month, AI’s rapid evolution continues as DeepSeek’s viral rise disrupts the...
Hey Siri, Are You a Zombie?
In December 2023 the U.S. government disrupted a botnet operated by People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored hackers. The hackers had...
CR Webinar Recap: Dude, Where’s My Data?
On January 27, 2025 Consumer Reports (CR), in collaboration with the National Cyber Alliance (NCA) and Cloaked, hosted a webinar titled “Dude,...
Announcing Data Rights Protocol v1.0
The Data Rights Protocol (DRP) consortium is thrilled to announce that we are releasing DRP version 1.0! This protocol has been in development for...
Designing AI Agents That Work for You, Part 2: Architecture
In Part 1 of this post, we looked at some properties that agents should have if they want to benefit consumers, and what communication between those...
Designing AI Agents That Work for You, Part 1: Communication Patterns
Here at CR we’re starting to envision AI systems that advise and represent the interests of consumers. In this post, we’ll propose two...
Charging for Essential Software Security Features Undermines Digital Safety
Charging users more money for essential security is a pernicious practice by vendors selling software to small and medium businesses. Unfortunately,...
White Papers
2025
Mixed Signals: Many Companies May Be Ignoring Opt-Out Requests Under State Privacy Laws
AI Voice Cloning: Do These 6 Companies Do Enough to Prevent Misuse?
2024
2024 Consumer Cyber Readiness
2023
2023 Consumer Cyber Readiness
A Raw Deal for US Consumers: Online platforms will make changes to better serve European Consumers but not US Consumers
Future of Memory Safety: Challenges and Recommendations
2022
Consumer Cyber Readiness
Opening Black Boxes: Addressing Legal Barriers to Public Interest Algorithmic Auditing
2021
The Case for Fair Market Rules for the Largest Online Platforms
2020
Platform Perceptions: Consumer Attitudes on Competition and Fairness in Online Platforms
Privacy Front and Center
2000
Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: The Law Must Protect Consumers’ Genetic Privacy
Understanding the Scope of Data Collection by Major Technology Platforms
The Evolution of Consumer Attitudes Toward Online Tracking, 1995-2019
Research
2025
How to Build Long-lived Connected Products
How U.S. States are Tackling Algorithmic Pricing: 2025 Bill Tracker and Analysis
2024
Data Defense, Evaluating People-Search Site Removal Services
CR Vulnerability Disclosures, Video Doorbells
2023
Who Shares Your Information with Facebook? Sampling the Surveillance Economy in 2023
P2P Payment Apps: A Case Study for a Digital Finance Standard
2022
Broadband Pricing: What Consumer Reports Learned From 22,000 Internet Bills
2021
Credit Not Due: The Limitations of Popular Credit Score Apps
The State of Authorized Agent Opt-Outs Under the California Consumer Privacy Act
Effects of Varying Education Level and Job Status on Online Auto Insurance Price Quotes
Evaluating the Privacy Practices of Mental Health Apps
2000
California Consumer Privacy Act: Are Consumers' Digital Rights Protected?
Collecting #Receipts: Food Delivery Apps & Fee Transparency
Survey Data
2019
Privacy Risk Benefit Survey
Data Privacy Habits Survey
Social Media Survey
2018
Privacy Control vs. Ownership Survey
Social Media Survey
Medical Privacy Survey
Social Media and Privacy Survey
2017
Net Neutrality Survey
Privacy and Net Neutrality Survey
Government and Consumer Issues Survey
2015
