The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, Canada focusing on advanced research and development at the intersection of digital media, global security, and human rights.

We are a “hothouse” that combines the disciplines of political science, sociology, computer science, engineering, and graphic design. Our mission is to undertake advanced research and engage in development that monitors, analyses, and impacts the exercise of political power in cyberspace.  We undertake this mission through collaborative partnerships with leading edge research centers, organizations, and individuals around the world, and through a pioneering “fusion” methodology that combines technical reconnaissance, field investigations, and data mining, analysis, and visualization.

The Citizen Lab’s ongoing research network includes the Information Warfare Monitor, the OpenNet Initiative, OpenNet Eurasia, and Opennet.Asia.

The Citizen Lab developed the original design of the  Psiphon censorship circumvention software, and continues to collaborate with Psiphon Inc through the Psi-Lab project on research that explores circumvention technologies and the consideration of political and legal issues surrounding their use in denied environments.

Financial support for the Citizen Lab’s research and development has come from the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), The Canada Centre for Global Security Studies the SecDev Group, Psiphon Inc., the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Donner Canadian Foundation, and the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation. The Citizen Lab has benefited by generous donations of software and support from Palantir Technologies and Oculus Info Inc

Inquiries about any aspect of the Citizen Lab’s research and development can be made through emailing info at citizenlab.org.