The Citizen Lab

The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research, development, and high-level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security.

We use a “mixed methods” approach to research combining practices from political science, law, computer science, and area studies.

Last Notes

2025-02-25 20:28:46 UTC

New legal commentary by The Citizen Lab’s Cynthia Khoo and Kate Robertson warns of the constitutional dangers posed by a potential Canada-U.S. CLOUD Act agreement. If signed, this would extend the reach of U.S. law enforcement into Canada’s digital terrain to an unprecedented extent.
Read it here: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/02/canada-us-cross-border-surveillance-cloud-act/
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2025-02-24 21:13:11 UTC

⚠️ New legal analysis by The Citizen Lab’s Cynthia Khoo and Kate Robertson warns of the constitutional dangers posed by the Canada-U.S. #CLOUDAct.
If signed, the agreement would extend the reach of U.S. law enforcement into Canada’s digital terrain to an unprecedented extent.
Read it here: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/02/canada-us-cross-border-surveillance-cloud-act/
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2025-02-21 17:28:06 UTC

✒️Even after Assad’s fall, #disinformation in #Syria is thriving. In an opinion piece The Citizen Lab’s @nprofile…aeax discusses how new trends and tactics have emerged, and how foreign powers and non-state actors exploit social media to manipulate narratives and spread fear.
Read more here: https://timep.org/2025/01/30/truth-in-transition-disinformation-in-post-assad-syria/

2025-02-16 15:21:42 UTC

In a Q&A for the Digital Front Lines report by Foreign Policy Analytics (@nprofile…4j3t) human rights activist Carine Kanimba and The Citizen Lab director @nprofile…gh3g discuss the human toll of spyware and call for collaboration between civil society, tech firms, and governments to combat its abuse.
https://digitalfrontlines.io/2025/01/31/spyware-human-toll-cyber-mercenaries/
#spyware

2025-02-12 15:31:42 UTC

Our first network security analysis of the popular social media app, #RedNote, has revealed some major red flags 🚩🚩🚩. The app is used by over 300 million users worldwide - but its network encryption falls short. Read the report: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/02/network-security-issues-in-rednote/

2025-02-10 18:51:29 UTC

Imagine having your home address splattered all over the internet. Meryem, an activist living in the US, knows exactly what that’s like. She faces relentless online harassment from Chinese state-backed trolls as she fights for #Uyghur rights. Her fight is made even harder because she is a woman. Learn about the price she’s paid: https://citizenlab.ca/case-studies/meryem-a-human-rights-activist-from-xinjiang-china/ #digitaltransnationalrepression
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