
I'm a graduate student in law and computer science at Stanford University. Wherever information technology, public policy, and law intersect, I'm interested.
My research homes are the Security Lab, advised by John Mitchell, and the Center for Internet and Society. In my free time I build robots.
Setting the Record Straight on Google’s Safari Tracking
By Jonathan Mayer • February 21, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Our recent research on Google’s circumvention of the Safari cookie blocking feature has led to some confusion, in part owing to the company’s statement in response (reproduced in its entiretybelow). This post is an attempt to elucidate the central issues. As with the original writeup, I aim for a neutral viewpoint in the interest of establishing a common factual understanding. Read more » about Setting the Record Straight on Google’s Safari Tracking
Safari Trackers
By Jonathan Mayer • February 17, 2012 at 4:31 pm
Apple’s Safari web browser is configured to block third-party cookies by default. We identified four advertising companies that unexpectedly place trackable cookies in Safari. Google and Vibrant Media intentionally circumvent Safari’s privacy feature. Media Innovation Group and PointRoll serve scripts that appear to be derived from circumvention example code. Read more » about Safari Trackers
A Brief Overview of the Supplementary DAA Principles
By Jonathan Mayer • November 8, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Yesterday the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) announced a supplementary set of self-regulatory principles for third parties on the web (pdf, press release). This post is a brief — and far from comprehensive — overview of improvements, continued deficiencies, and procedural issues. Read more » about A Brief Overview of the Supplementary DAA Principles
Tracking the Trackers: Where Everybody Knows Your Username
By Jonathan Mayer • October 11, 2011 at 8:06 am
Click the local Home Depot ad and your email address gets handed to a dozen companies monitoring you. Your web browsing, past, present, and future, is now associated with your identity. Swap photos with friends on Photobucket and clue a couple dozen more into your username. Keep tabs on your favorite teams with Bleacher Report and you pass your full name to a dozen again. This isn't a 1984-esque scaremongering hypothetical. This is what's happening today.
[Update 10/11: Since several readers have asked – this study was funded exclusively by Stanford University and research grants to the Stanford Security Lab. It was not supported by any advocacy organization.] Read more » about Tracking the Trackers: Where Everybody Knows Your Username
Tracking the Trackers: Self-Help Tools
By Jonathan Mayer • September 13, 2011 at 4:35 am
A number of technologies have been touted to offer consumers control over third-party web tracking. This post reviews the tools that are available and presents empirical evidence on their effectiveness. Here are the key takeaways:
- Most desktop browsers currently do not support effective self-help tools. Mobile users are almost completely out of luck.
- Self-help tools vary substantially in performance.
- The most effective self-help tools block third-party advertising.
Following the usage model in the FTC staff's 2010 preliminary online privacy report, this post is oriented towards the user who wants a simple, persistent, comprehensive solution such that with high confidence no third party collects her browsing history. We assume that some third-party trackers will use non-cookie tracking methods including supercookies and fingerprinting (e.g. Microsoft, KISSmetrics, Epic Marketplace, BlueCava, Interclick, Quantcast).
Thanks to Jovanni Hernandez and Akshay Jagadeesh for assisting with data collection, and to Arvind Narayanan and Peter Eckersley for input on drafts.
{C} Read more » about Tracking the Trackers: Self-Help Tools
Pages
Third-Party Web Tracking: Policy and Technology
John Mitchell and I have written a new paper that synthesizes research on policy and technology issues surrounding third-party web tracking. It will appear at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May. Read more » about Third-Party Web Tracking: Policy and Technology
Do-Not-Track Talks Could Be Running Off the Rails
"“I think it’s right to think about shutting down the process and saying we just can’t agree,” Mr. Mayer said. “We gave it the old college try. But sometimes you can’t reach a negotiated deal.”" Read more » about Do-Not-Track Talks Could Be Running Off the Rails
Boot up: brains v games, Windows 8 v the 90%, shrinking tablets grow, and more
"The Verge Firefox is set to start blocking cookies from third-party ad networks by default, thanks to a patch submitted by Stanford law student and online privacy activist Jonathan Mayer. " Read more » about Boot up: brains v games, Windows 8 v the 90%, shrinking tablets grow, and more
Can I Get Some Privacy?
Jennifer Granick, Aleecia McDonald, Jonathan Mayer and Arvind Narayanan discuss data privacy in this cover story by Stanford Magazine. Read more » about Can I Get Some Privacy?
Firefox 22 will block third-party cookies
"Jonathan Mayer, a researcher at Stanford, has contributed a patch for Firefox that will block third-party cookies from installing on the user's browser." Read more » about Firefox 22 will block third-party cookies
Firefox to follow Safari, start blocking cookies from third-party advertisers
"Firefox is set to start blocking cookies from third-party ad networks by default, thanks to a patch submitted by Stanford law student and online privacy activist Jonathan Mayer." Read more » about Firefox to follow Safari, start blocking cookies from third-party advertisers
Pages
11/29: CIS Speaker Series - Do Not Track: Technology, Policy, and Politics (Past Event)
Jonathan Mayer is a computer science Ph.D. student and 3L at Stanford University. He graduated from Princeton University in 2009 with a concentration in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Jonathan's area of study encompasses the intersections of policy, law, and computer science - with particular emphasis on national security and international relations. Read more » about 11/29: CIS Speaker Series - Do Not Track: Technology, Policy, and Politics
Pages
Innovation or Exploitation (Video)
February 21, 2013
Have you ever borrowed a smartphone without asking? Modified a URL? Scraped a website? Called an undocumented API? Congratulations: you might have violated federal law! A 1986 statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), provides both civil and criminal remedies for mere "unauthorized" access to a computer. Read more » about Innovation or Exploitation (Video)
Innovation or Exploitation? (Audio)
February 21, 2013
Have you ever borrowed a smartphone without asking? Modified a URL? Scraped a website? Called an undocumented API? Congratulations: you might have violated federal law! A 1986 statute, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), provides both civil and criminal remedies for mere "unauthorized" access to a computer. Read more » about Innovation or Exploitation? (Audio)