Testing technology and the law.
Building for the public interest.
As one of the few computer scientists working inside a law faculty, I’m an associate professor at Maastricht University’s Law & Tech Lab (PhD, Oxford), where I lead Comp4Good. My interdisciplinary team investigates what apps and AI actually do with our data—and whether the laws that govern them work in practice. To keep up with the pace of digital technologies, we strive to work at market scale and speed, and have audited millions of apps and websites.
Alongside my academic work, I enjoy building public-interest technology that works for people. I created TrackerControl, used by more than 200,000 people; its approach now reaches millions through DuckDuckGo. I also built LegalViz.EU, which makes EU law easier to read and use in AI agents. I also co-founded several start-ups — including the Centre for Digital Habits — with backing from the Alchemist Accelerator and the UK’s ImpactU Foundation.
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.
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.
CCPA opt-outs on Android (PETS ’26) · iOS vs Android privacy (PETS ’22)
AI & Data Regulation
Europe has the world’s most ambitious tech laws. Do they actually work?
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.
Missing the Mark (Policy & Internet, 2026) · China’s data laws (ConPro ’23)
Young People & Social Media
How can we make social media safer — and give young people more control?
Rather than waiting for bans, we build tools that give young people and families more 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 attention and behaviour.
Right to repair for apps (FAccT ’23) · GreaseDroid (CHI ’21)
Impact
- Privacy & App Economy
- Stefano Rodotà Award 2024 · FPF Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award 2022 · UN Privacy Hackathon winner 2022
- AI & Data Regulation
- AiNed Fellowship (€800,503) · REGULAIRE (€4.7M EU MSCA, co-lead) · CoCoDa (€1.2M SNSF) · ConPro Best Paper Award 2023
- Young People & Social Media
- Centre for Digital Habits · backing from the UK’s ImpactU Foundation
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 · Ars Technica · TechCrunch · Politico · Der Standard · All coverage →