Lisa LeVasseur and Bryce Simpson, Internet Safety Labs
Internet Safety Labs has a goal to have current safety labels for all [more than 5M] mobile apps by 2029. To accomplish this, we've been experimenting with two paths: automation and crowdsourcing. Since October 2024, we've been running a pilot project called Safetypedia to crowdsource mobile app privacy inspections and labels. This presentation will share our findings on the hybrid approach of using both automation and crowdsourcing to increase the volume of safety labels (viewable at https://appmicroscope.org/). We'll discuss the challenges with crowdsourcing for both participants and ISL, whether the approach warrants a full rollout, and if the resultant community (and safety labels) can be a viable grassroots approach to accountability and digital product safety.
Lisa LeVasseur is the founder, Executive Director and Research Director of Internet Safety Labs, a nonprofit software product safety testing organization. Her technical industry contributions and deep knowledge of consumer software products and connected technologies span more than three decades. Throughout her career in software, she has developed a particular love for industry standards development and software product safety. At the core of Lisa's work is an understanding of how connected technologies can make our lives better as well as the safeguards that are necessary for them to do so. She has dedicated the past six years to developing a vision for digital product safety – where all connected, software-driven products are safe for people and humanity.
Bryce Simpson is a Safety Researcher/Auditor at Internet Safety Labs. He's been performing cyber security and online privacy assessments for five years, with recent focus on educational technology platforms, synthesizing regulatory requirements and industry best practices. Specializing in meticulously analyzing the behavior of digital ecosystems, he is dedicated to navigating the intersection of privacy concerns and technological advancements, ensuring a secure online environment for all.
author = {Lisa LeVasseur and Bryce Simpson},
title = {Safetypedia: Crowdsourcing Privacy Inspections},
year = {2025},
address = {Santa Clara, CA},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
month = jun
}