Digital Citizens Alliance

The Digital Citizens Alliance is a United States non-profit organization focused on Internet safety issues. It releases reports focused on malware, credit card theft, online drug sales to teens, piracy and overall Internet consumer safety. It has criticized Google for not systematically removing videos from YouTube that are used to perpetrate fraud or provide instructions for buying drugs. In 2014 a debate was prompted by leaked Sony emails about the organization's role in thwarting piracy. Its reports and work have been showcased on ABC News, the New York Times, Fox News, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and numerous other publications.

In 2013, Digital Citizens Alliance did an expose on online pharmacies selling drugs to minors. This was followed by a report on online drug marketplaces like Silk Road in 2014. DCA have issued several reports alleging that Google inappropriately profited from advertising revenues on YouTube videos that promote the sale of unlawful sale of controlled substance.

Digital Citizens has conducted reports on whether ad-supported websites were infringing copyrights of movies and television shows. In one report, with MediaLink, Digital Citizens estimated that ad-supported content theft was at least a $227 million business.

In a December 2015 report entitled Digital Bait commissioned by Digital Citizens, security company RiskIQ reported that 1 in 3 visitors to content theft websites exposed themselves to malware that can lead to identity theft, financial loss and ransomware. Digital Citizens has also have provided ongoing coverage of the state of darknet markets.

In another report, Digital Citizens reported that credit card companies were helping websites offer pirated content for a subscription fee. In September 2014, they commissioned a report via the brand protection organization NetNames reporting how various cyberlocker sites 'make millions' in profit. The CEO of cloud storage service Mega said the allegations were 'grossly untrue and highly defamatory' and 4shared said the report was 'defamatory'. Mega, however, never actually followed up on its threat to sue.

They have provided ongoing coverage of the state of darknet markets. In March 2017, the group published a report showing how nearly 14 million Stolen email addresses and passwords from some of the largest U.S. universities are being offered for sale on the Dark Web. In April 2017, a report entitled, "The Fake Epidemic: How Fake News, “Like-Farming” and Scam GoFundMe Campaigns Are Undermining Trust in the Internet – And What We as A Society Must Do About It," showed how Americans are losing faith in the credibility of the Internet. According to the report, "Half of Americans weren't sure something was fake news when they came across it. In fact, 1 in 4 said they shared something or sent it to others only to later find out it was fake or false information. Sixty-one percent said that fake news and information made them less likely to rely on the Internet as a source of information."

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