Ranking Digital Rights Partners with Consumer Reports to Set Standards for Privacy and Security

Consumer Reports is launching a new initiative to develop a digital standard to measure the privacy and security of products, apps, and services with the goal of helping companies prioritize consumers’ data security and privacy needs. The standard was developed in partnership with leading privacy, security, and consumer rights organizations.

Ranking Digital Rights, a non-profit research initiative housed at New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI), was a partner in the collaborative effort. Ranking Digital Rights works with an international network of partners to set global standards for how companies in the information and communications technology sector should respect freedom of expression and privacy, and will be launching their 2017 Corporate Accountability Index on March 23. The Index evaluates 22 of the world’s most powerful telecommunications, internet and mobile companies on disclosed commitments and policies affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy. The digital standard draws from the Ranking Digital Rights research methodology along with other technical testing and research methodologies developed by other coalition partners.