
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.
A Response to Commissioner Rosch on Do Not Track
By Jonathan Mayer • March 29, 2011 at 12:37 am
Late last week FTC Commissioner Rosch penned a column in which he repeated a number of hackneyed criticisms of Do Not Track. Senators McCaskill and Pryor articulated similar concerns at a recent hearing. This piece sequentially deconstructs Rosch's column and replies to each of his substantive critiques.
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Do Not Track, Meet IETF
By Jonathan Mayer • March 9, 2011 at 12:44 am
Do Not Track is on its way to becoming an Internet standard. In collaboration with Sid Stamm at Mozilla we've submitted an Internet-Draft to the IETF, specifying both the HTTP header syntax and the requirements for compliance.
This is just the beginning of the IETF's process and the evolution of the draft. But it's a transformative moment for web privacy: Do Not Track is now a formal standards proposal. Every browser, advertising network, analytics service, and social plug-in provider has a clear instruction manual on how to implement Do Not Track.
We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the colleagues and friends whose efforts have made Do Not Track a reality: Alissa Cooper, Peter Eckersley, Alex Fowler, John Mitchell, Ashkan Soltani, Lee Tien, and Harlan Yu. And we particularly thank Chris Soghoian, Do Not Track's unflagging champion for nearly two years. Read more » about Do Not Track, Meet IETF
Do Not Track FTC Comment: What It Means, How to Enforce It, and More
By Jonathan Mayer • February 24, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Last Friday we submitted a comment to the FTC articulating our vision for Do Not Track. We expanded on a number of views already expressed on this blog: Do Not Track is about much more than behavioral advertising, an HTTP header is the right implementation, and Do Not Track is no threat to ad-supported businesses. Here are the new highlights. (For a fuller exposition of each, please see our comment.) Read more » about Do Not Track FTC Comment: What It Means, How to Enforce It, and More
Minor Updates to the Do Not Track Header
By Jonathan Mayer • January 27, 2011 at 12:27 pm
We're pleased to announce we're beginning work on an IETF Internet-Draft for the Do Not Track header. We look forward to incorporating broad feedback.
In anticipation of the first version of the Internet-Draft, we're making a few minor updates to the header. The reference implementations at DoNotTrack.Us will be revised shortly. Read more » about Minor Updates to the Do Not Track Header
Do Not Track Is No Threat to Ad-Supported Businesses
By Jonathan Mayer • January 20, 2011 at 2:12 am
"If you remove tracking, you remove advertisers." "Stop [data] sharing and you put a stop to the Internet as we know it." "Thousands of small websites may disappear." "Would you like to pay $20 a month for Facebook?" A spate of such recent commentaries have speculated that Do Not Track could hobble advertising-supported businesses. Here's why it won't. Read more » about Do Not Track Is No Threat to Ad-Supported Businesses
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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
FTC Dings Google $22.5M in Safari Cookie Flap
FTC Hits Google With $22.5 Million Fine Over Safari Tracking
Rumors of the $22.5 million settlement first cropped up in June, but the issue dates back to February. At that point, a Stanford University graduate student, Jonathan Mayer, released a report that accused Google and three other ad networks of side-stepping the privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser to track usage on iPhones and Macs without permission. Read more » about FTC Hits Google With $22.5 Million Fine Over Safari Tracking
Google Hit with Record $22.5-Million fine for Safari Tracking
The FTC said that Google informed Safari users that since the browser blocks third-party cookies, they did not need to opt out of online tracking. Yet Google in fact placed a temporary cookie on computers, tablets and mobile devices, a privacy breach first reported by Stanford researcher Jonathan Mayer. Read more » about Google Hit with Record $22.5-Million fine for Safari Tracking
Google would pay record FTC fine under tentative Apple Safari settlement
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Innovation or Exploitation? (Past Event)
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?
Behavioral Advertising and Privacy Law Reboot - US and International Legal Trends and Best Practices for Internet, Cloud and E-Commerce Companies (Past Event)
Hosted by the Stanford Center for E-Commerce.
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm: Registration/Reception (Manning Faculty Lounge, second floor breezeway fo Stanford Law School) Read more » about Behavioral Advertising and Privacy Law Reboot - US and International Legal Trends and Best Practices for Internet, Cloud and E-Commerce Companies
Privacy Identity Innovation - pii2012 (Past Event)
The third edition of the Privacy Identity Innovation conference will be held in downtown Seattle this Spring. Taking place May 15-16 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, pii2012 Seattle will explore how to protect sensitive information while enabling new technologies and business models. Read more » about Privacy Identity Innovation - pii2012
IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy: Web Security (Past Event)
Sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Security and Privacy in cooperation with the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). Read more » about IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy: Web Security
Conference on Web Privacy Measurement (WPM) (Past Event)
Jonathan Mayer, CIS Student Fellow, is co-chairing the Conference on Web Privacy Measurement.
This event is hosted by the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology.
More info about the event. Read more » about Conference on Web Privacy Measurement (WPM)
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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)