About Me

Hi! My name is Lin. I am a PhD candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP), as part of the Responsible Computing Group with Asia Biega. 

I am interested in the relationship between tech regulation, users, and tech companies. Currently in my PhD, I am primarily focusing on improving online consent for more responsible and human-centred data collection. I collaborate with researchers across CS and law for broader societal and regulatory impact. Combining these collaborations with my own background in HCI, psychology, and privacy, I investigate the human aspects of the consent ecosystem.

I have presented my work, and have engaged with privacy and AI ethics stakeholders across Europe and North America such as the French Data Protection Authority, NOYB, and the Future of Privacy Forum. My work has also won the Council of Europe's 2024 Rodotà Award in Data Protection, and has been featured in an AI Ethics Brief from the Montreal Institute of AI Ethics.

Education

PhD in Computer Science at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (Bochum, Germany)
Supervisor: Asia Biega
Research Interests: Online consent, ethical data collection, privacy
September 2021 - Present

MA in Human-Computer Interaction at Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
I was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) during my studies.
Supervisor: Elizabeth Stobert
Thesis: “End User Mental Models of Social Engineering Attacks” [PDF]
2019 - 2021

BA (Honours) in Psychology at Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario, Canada)
2015 - 2019

Service

Relevant Work Experience