The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Canada focusing on advanced research and development at the intersection of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), human rights, and global security.
Our Mission
We are a “hothouse” that combines the disciplines of political science, sociology, computer science, engineering, and graphic design. We undertake research that monitors, analyzes, and impacts the exercise of political power in cyberspace.
The Citizen Lab accomplishes these goals through collaborative partnerships with leading edge research centres and individuals around the world and through a mixed methods approach that combines technical reconnaissance, field investigations, and data mining, analysis, and visualization.
Watch a short video, courtesy of TEDx Toronto, to learn more about the philosophy behind the Citizen Lab.
Our Research Network
The Citizen Lab’s ongoing research network includes the Cyber Stewards Network, OpenNet Initiative, OpenNet Eurasia, Opennet.Asia. The Citizen Lab was a founding partner of the Information Warfare Monitor (2002-2012). The Citizen Lab developed the original design of Psiphon, a censorship circumvention software, which was spun out of the lab into a private Canadian corporation (Psiphon Inc.) in 2008.
Learn more about our projects.
Our Donors
Financial support for the Citizen Lab’s research has come from the The Canada Centre for Global Security Studies, Donner Canadian Foundation, Ford Foundation, HIVOS, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Oak Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Psiphon Inc., The Sigrid Rausing Trust, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation. The Citizen Lab received generous donations of software and services from Hyas, Palantir Technologies, and Oculus Info Inc.
Make a donation to the Citizen Lab. Your support plays an essential role in sustaining the quality, independence and impact of our work.
