YONKERS, N.Y. — Benjamin Moskowitz is joining Consumer Reports as director of its newly-launched Digital Lab, the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization announced today.
The Digital Lab is a major initiative to expand CR’s work on privacy, digital security, and emerging issues in digital consumer protection. The venture is initially funded by a $6 million grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
As director of the Digital Lab, Mr. Moskowitz will oversee strategic planning and develop innovative partnerships with philanthropic organizations and other stakeholders.
Marta Tellado, President and CEO of Consumer Reports, said, “We’re thrilled that Ben is bringing his expertise and vision to CR as the director of our new Digital Lab. CR is raising the bar for the privacy and security of the connected products and online platforms that have become part of our everyday lives. We want to ensure consumers have more control over their choices in a market where Big Tech must be held accountable. Ben brings an extraordinary combination of knowledge and passion for these issues as well as experience bringing institutions and communities together around new ways of working.”
Moskowitz said, “I’m honored to be joining CR at this important time in the history of the internet, as people’s expectations of connected products and services are changing. For more than 80 years, people have trusted Consumer Reports to advocate for their interests and help them make informed choices. The Digital Lab and its growing team will help write the next chapter in this long tradition, addressing the urgent need to increase choice and transparency in the digital marketplace.”
CR announced the launch of the Digital Lab in June. This initiative will produce pioneering research and investigative journalism that will give consumers the knowledge and power to choose products and services across every product category that CR currently tests, rates, and reviews, as well as categories yet to be invented. The Digital Lab will also serve as the foundation for CR’s work to hold the tech industry to higher standards and advocate for marketplace protections, including tougher privacy laws and antitrust enforcement.
The Digital Lab is the latest in a series of CR’s efforts to protect and advance the digital rights of consumers. In 2017 CR unveiled the Digital Standard, which the nonprofit developed in partnership with privacy and security experts to evaluate connected products.
“Today, too much of the digital marketplace operates in a black box,” Moskowitz said. “To demand more of our connected products and services, we must first articulate our expectations for the code that powers them. CR’s Digital Lab will bring together diverse voices and experts from a broad set of disciplines to continuously test and monitor connected products and services; incubate new ways for consumers to exercise their voice and market power; and advocate for policies that restore people’s control over their online lives.”
Mr. Moskowitz most recently served as Director of Development for Innovation for the International Rescue Committee, where he secured more than $29 million in funding as a founding member of the Airbel Center—an R&D unit that designs, tests, and scales life-changing solutions for refugees and people affected by conflict. He also helped drive the IRC and Sesame Workshop’s proposal to deliver early childhood learning to millions of children affected by the Syrian war, winner of a $100 million prize from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Prior to IRC, he served as Senior Director, Development Strategy at Mozilla Foundation, where he led the design and implementation of new programs with philanthropic organizations and partners. Like CR, Mozilla is a social enterprise with a mission to empower consumer choice. He also served as a member of the board of directors for US Ignite, a public/private partnership to catalyze investment in high-speed networks.
CR is seeking a test project leader, deputy content editor, associate communications director, and other professionals to develop and advance the Digital Lab initiative. Visit Career Opportunities at Consumer Reports to learn more.
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Contact: David Butler, 202-719-5916, dbutler@consumer.org
Consumer Reports is a nonprofit membership organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. For more than 80 years, CR has provided evidence-based product testing and ratings, rigorous research, hard-hitting investigative journalism, public education, and steadfast policy action on behalf of consumers’ interests. Unconstrained by advertising or other commercial influences, CR has exposed landmark public health and safety issues and strives to be a catalyst for pro-consumer changes in the marketplace. From championing responsible auto safety standards, to winning food and water protections, to enhancing healthcare quality, to fighting back against predatory lenders in the financial markets, Consumer Reports has always been on the front lines, raising the voices of consumers.