Justin Brookman is the Director, Consumer Privacy and Technology Policy, for Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. In this new privacy role at CR, he will help the organization continue its groundbreaking work to shape the digital marketplace in a way that empowers consumers and puts their data privacy and security needs first. This work includes using CR research to identify critical gaps in consumer privacy, data security, and technology law and policy, as well as building strategies to expand the use and influence of the new Digital Standard  being developed by CR and partner organizations to evaluate the privacy and security of products and services.

Prior to joining Consumers Union, Brookman was Policy Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation. At the FTC, Brookman conducted and published original research on consumer protection issues raised by emerging technologies such as cross-device tracking, smartphone security, and the Internet of Things. He also helped initiate and investigate enforcement actions against deceptive or unfair practices, including actions against online data brokers and digital tracking companies.

He previously served as Director of Consumer Privacy at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), a digital rights nonprofit, where he coordinated CDT’s advocacy for stronger protections for personal information in the United States and Europe.

Brookman also served as an Assistant Attorney General and, later, Chief of the Internet Bureau in the New York Attorney General’s office, where he brought consumer protection actions on a wide range of issues, including privacy, free speech, data security, and net neutrality.  He began his career as a litigation associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.  He received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.