Justin Brookman

Justin Brookman is one of the most consequential privacy advocates operating at the intersection of consumer protection and digital advertising. As Director of Technology Policy at Consumer Reports, he leads efforts to hold AdTech companies accountable for data collection and tracking practices, translating complex technical surveillance mechanisms into policy arguments that resonate with legislators and regulators. His work has directly influenced debates around comprehensive federal privacy legislation, data broker regulation, and the limits of behavioral advertising. Before joining Consumer Reports, Brookman served as Director of Consumer Privacy in the FTC's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, where he was a central figure in the agency's efforts to develop Do Not Track standards and investigate deceptive data practices in online advertising. He also spent years at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), where he led the organization's privacy project and engaged extensively with industry stakeholders on tracking technologies and self-regulatory frameworks. This combination of government, civil society, and advocacy experience gives him a uniquely authoritative voice in AdTech policy debates. Brookman is widely recognized as a sharp critic of surveillance capitalism and the data broker ecosystem that underpins programmatic advertising. He has testified before Congress, engaged with international regulators, and consistently pushed for enforceable privacy rules rather than voluntary industry self-regulation. His technical fluency — rare among policy advocates — allows him to engage credibly on issues like cookie tracking, device fingerprinting, real-time bidding data flows, and identity resolution, making him a formidable counterweight to industry lobbying efforts.

• J.D., New York University School of Law
• B.A., University of Virginia

• Led FTC's consumer privacy division during the development of Do Not Track standards, directly challenging the AdTech industry's tracking infrastructure
• Played a key role in shaping the FTC's 2012 Privacy Report, which set the framework for subsequent U.S. privacy policy debates
• Testified before U.S. Congress on multiple occasions on consumer privacy, data brokers, and digital advertising practices
• Contributed to Consumer Reports' Digital Lab initiatives exposing data collection practices of major platforms and AdTech companies

• Contributor to FTC reports on privacy, data brokers, and mobile security (2010-2015)
• Various op-eds and policy papers on consumer privacy and digital advertising regulation