Jonathan Mayer

Jonathan Mayer (born February 5, 1987) is an American computer scientist and lawyer. He is a PhD candidate in computer science at Stanford University and is also a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society and the Center for International Security and Cooperation. During his graduate studies he was a consultant at the California Department of Justice.

Mayer's research focuses on technology policy, especially concerning computer security and privacy. He was selected as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2014 for his contributions to those areas.

Mayer is a Chicago, Illinois, United States, native and attended the Latin School of Chicago. He received his AB from Princeton University in 2009 through the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. During his undergraduate studies he was a member of the team competing in the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge and Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition.

Mayer began his graduate work at Stanford University in 2009, where he was its first student to pursue both a PhD through the computer science department and a JD at Stanford Law School. Mayer received his JD in 2013.

Mayer's research when at Princeton studied the feasibility of tracking web browsers with partial identifiers like display resolution and extensions. His advisor was Professor Edward William Felten. Mayer's research found that it was possible to fingerprint web browsers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation's subsequent study reached the same conclusions using a bigger data set. There are businesses now using browser fingerprints in products.

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