Technology makes promises.
Laws make promises.
Someone has to check.
As one of the few computer scientists working inside a law faculty, I measure what apps and AI actually do with our data — and whether the laws that govern them work in practice. I’m an associate professor at Maastricht University’s Law & Tech Lab (PhD, Oxford), where I lead Comp4Good, an interdisciplinary research team focused on auditing AI and other digital systems.
My studies of hidden tracking across millions of Android and iOS apps have shaped tools used by millions and won the Council of Europe’s Stefano Rodotà Award. I’ve also been building mobile apps myself for fifteen years.
Key Questions
Privacy & the App Economy
What’s going on inside our apps? Is iPhone really better for privacy?
Most apps quietly track us. I built TrackerControl (200,000+ downloads) to make that visible — an open-source Android tool grounded in the analysis of some two million apps. Its blocking approach was adopted by DuckDuckGo for their App Tracking Protection, now used by millions every day.
FAccT ’22 · PETS ’22 · SOUPS ’21
AI & Data Regulation
Europe has the world’s most ambitious tech laws. Do they actually work?
AI regulation is ambitious on paper, but does it work in practice? In RegTech4AI (AiNed Fellowship), I develop regulatory technologies to make the EU AI Act and GDPR work in practice. I also co-lead REGULAIRE (EU Horizon MSCA), a European doctoral network helping regulators keep pace with technological change. In CoCoDa (SNSF, €1.2M), I build techno-legal methods to access platform data.
The App Economy (Bristol UP, 2026) · Beyond the EU: China’s data laws (Best Paper, ConPro ’23)
Digital Wellbeing
Should we ban social media — or build technology that people control?
Rather than waiting for bans, we build tools that put people back in control. As CTO of the Centre for Digital Habits (formerly Reduce Digital Distraction), led by Oxford psychologist Ulrik Lyngs, I develop open-source, privacy-first software grounded in ten years of research on how people actually regain control of their attention.
Right to repair for apps(FAccT ’23) · GreaseDroid (CHI ’21)
Engagement
- Talks & Briefings
- UK Competition & Markets Authority · CNIL · Council of Europe · PEReN (France) · US FTC ConPro Workshop · Georgetown · Dagstuhl · All talks →
- Press
- Wired · New Scientist (cover story) · Ars Technica · TechCrunch · Politico · Der Standard · All coverage →
- Recognition
- Stefano Rodotà Award 2024, Council of Europe · FPF Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award 2022
I take on expert assessments and advise on enforcement and legislative work — get in touch →
The App Economy — out now, free & open access
How Apple and Google use their dominance in the app economy, with what consequences for society — and how to respond. Published by Bristol University Press, 2026. Read it free →