A new study shows how ad-based technology is used for surveillance

NPR | By Tinbete Ermyas,

Rob Schmitz, Daniel Ofman

Published April 26, 2026 at 6:03 PM EDT

NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with Ronald Deibert of The Citizen Lab about a new report he published entitled "Uncovering Webloc," which is about how ad-based technology is used to surveil people.

Tinbete Ermyas

Rob Schmitz

Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.

See stories by Rob Schmitz

Daniel Ofman

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