CR 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’ll open up applications for the 2020–2021 cohort soon.
The California Consumer Privacy Act isn’t working for consumers
- CR’s Digital Lab released findings from a new study on whether California consumers can exercise their new data privacy rights. The study, conducted with over 500 volunteer testers, found that consumers struggled to locate the required links to opt out of the sale of their information and that some companies are actively exploiting loopholes to avoid compliance with the law. Read the full report. about the study in Media Post and Multichannel News.
Americans want more government regulation of tech platforms
- A new CR survey found that consumers across the political spectrum are concerned about the increasing power and lack of accountability of online platforms such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. A clear majority of respondents support some form of government regulation of the companies. The survey comes in advance of a highly-anticipated report by the U.S. House antitrust subcommittee that has been investigating allegations of misconduct by the nation’s biggest tech companies. Read more about the survey in Politico, The Hill, and Media Post, and listen to a radio interview with NPR’s “All Sides with Ann Fisher.”
In case you missed it:
- Digital Lab researcher Stephanie Nguyen investigated four food delivery companies on how transparent they are with fees and how they are complying with local rules and ordinances in seven cities.
- The US needs a broadband reboot: our President and CEO, Marta Tellado, published an op-ed in The Hill that highlights the need for greater access to affordable broadband in the United States.
- CR and The Root co-published an article by Digital Lab’s investigative journalist Kaveh Waddell on the controversy of using race-adjusted medical algorithms.
