About Us

Who We Are

Internet Safety Labs is the world’s first independent product safety testing lab for software, unrelentingly on the side of consumers and their safety.

Why We Exist

Virtually every new product introduction sees the emergence of safety standards soon following market adoption. (Think: telephones, automobiles, radio, TV.)

But this never happened for software. Weird. Just because there’s “soft” in the name, doesn’t mean it’s safe.

There’s lots of buzz around “data privacy” and “cybersecurity”, but we think it’s far simpler:

Good old, basic product safety.

Because all products should be safe for people.

Statement of Independence

ISL is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) product safety testing and research organization. We are committed to the independence and autonomy of all our work. We do not accept funding that would impact our ability to remain impartial and objective or compromise our ethical foundation.

Our Partners

Our work would not be possible without our foundation partners and individual donors.
Current partners listed below.

Wrethinking The Foundation logo

Wrethinking, the Foundation
Wrethinking, the Foundation supports the Southern California community, promoting technology innovations that solve human problems.

Internet Society Foundation logo

Internet Society Foundation
The Internet Society Foundation champions ideas and enables communities to unlock the Internet’s potential to tackle the world’s evolving challenges.

What We Do

Graphic of crash test dummy with bandaid on head

Define Software Harms

We work to develop and gain consensus around a common software harms taxonomy. 

Develop Software Product Safety Standards

We’ve developed a rigorous baseline for testing the safety of websites and mobile apps.

Graphic of three crash test dummies with green, yellow and red graph below
Graphic of magnifying glass, mobile phone and computer screen displaying green and yellow checkmarks and red circle with an x across it

Perform Product Safety Research and Create Industry Benchmarks

Perform Product Safety Audits

For websites and mobile apps.

Internet Safety Labs: Safe for Kids badge

The Team

Team

Lisa LeVasseur portrait

LinkedIn iconLisa LeVasseur

Executive Director

Why ISL? “Because the world needs a way to measure the ethical behavior of technology, to ensure the well-being of people, societies and the planet.”

LinkedIn iconIrene Knapp

Technology Director

Why ISL? “Technology should be used for the betterment of humanity. For that to be a reality, industry and government alike need to be held accountable for the harms of the tools they build and deploy. Independent oversight is part of building a future people can live in”.

Portrait of Saish Mandavkar

LinkedIn iconSaish Mandavkar

Quantitative Analyst/Researcher

Why ISL? “Because our interactions with technology are now as important as our interactions with one another, and it is critical to ensure these interactions are ethical, respect our privacy, and are beneficial to both humanity and the environment.”

Portrait of Bryce Simpson

LinkedIn iconBryce Simpson

Safety Researcher/Auditor

Why ISL? “Everyone deserves to know the safety risks of all products they use. ISL helps explain and show the safety risks in technology – an area of products which up to now has been overlooked. By educating the world on safety risks associated with specific technologies, people can make genuinely educated decisions.”

Portrait of Nile Sprague

LinkedIn iconNile Sprague

Website Developer

Why ISL? “Technology has the potential to do both great good and great harm, and we often don’t know or understand what is happening behind the scenes or how it may impact us. I am proud to be part of a team contributing to the transparency of how software functions, that will in turn lead to improving safety.”

Portrait of George Vo

LinkedIn iconGeorge Vo

Software Developer

Why ISL? “People understand that safety and transparency is a common sense necessity for physical products, but this same standard isn’t yet applied to software. I’m proud to be part of a team working to provide these same protections for consumers of software products.”

Board of Directors

Lisa LeVasseur portrait

LinkedIn iconLisa LeVasseur

Why ISL? “Because the world needs a way to measure the ethical behavior of technology, to ensure the well-being of people, societies and the planet.”

Cam Geer portrait

LinkedIn iconCam Geer

Why ISL? “It’s imperative for the future of our society that the balance of power shifts to a more fair relationship between people and their technology. Internet Safety Labs is raising awareness and providing tools to empower people with agency over their digital lives.”

Eve Maler portrait

LinkedIn iconEve Maler

Why ISL? “UMAnitarians like to say that privacy isn’t secrecy; privacy isn’t encryption; privacy is context, control, choice, and respect. ISL focuses on respectful technology and breaks down the solution into meaningful steps.”

Portrait of Whitney Merrill

LinkedIn icon Whitney Merrill

Why ISL? “We get to shape the future. And we must ensure that our future has technology that is safe, respects privacy, and protects the sensitive information we share with it. Internet Safety Labs is taking major strides to secure that future.”

Advisors

LinkedIn iconAllison Mankin

Portrait of Dr. Nishal Mohan

LinkedIn iconDr. Nishal Mohan

Why ISL? “As a digital rebel, I work with marginalized communities globally to codevelop and democratize public benefit technologies such as the internet and digital services. ISL understands how technology affects everyone’s privacy, security, and digital rights and I am delighted to support these efforts particularly for the benefit of those new to the digital world.”

LinkedIn iconZach Edwards

Why ISL? “ISL is leading the challenging effort to audit technology that kids are using and raising awareness about the importance of privacy standards in those products. There’s no other organization who is doing the work, showing their process, and working holistically with vendors, privacy advocates, parents, teachers, administrators, elected officials and reporters to improve the current privacy landscape in education.”

Sheryl Wilkerson portrait

LinkedIn iconSheryl Wilkerson

Why ISL? “I’m excited to serve together with some of the most committed experts and thought leaders, to develop standards for respectful technology that will create a fair and balanced future.”

LinkedIn iconDeborah Schultz

Why ISL? “Society can only truly thrive when technology is safe for everyone. We need a common language, understanding, and roadmap of how to get there together. I am excited that ISL is leading the way in defining the science of safer software.”

Paul Reeves

LinkedIn iconPaul Reeves

Why ISL? “We have safety standards for many important areas of our lives like food, and transportation, but not for software. Yet we use software every day assuming it is safe. I’m proud to support ISL as they help companies and industries define standards that make us all safer while we continue to innovate and grow as individuals and as a global society.”

Portrait of Liad Wagman

LinkedIn iconLiad Wagman

Why ISL? “Solutions that align incentives for ethical behavior can benefit society by enabling stakeholders to make more informed decisions, reducing uncertainty and fostering trust.”