Independent Tech Researchers Face Growing Barriers, Report Warns

A new report from the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) warns that independent researchers studying the societal impacts of technology are encountering increasing financial, legal, and security obstacles—threatening the public’s ability to understand the influence of powerful digital platforms.

The study, titled The State of Independent Technology Research 2025: Power in Numbers, draws on input from more than 470 scholars, journalists, technologists, and civil society researchers in 45 countries. It concludes that funding for independent research is drying up, access to essential data is being restricted, and personal risks for those pursuing this work are on the rise.

According to the findings, 60 percent of researchers surveyed reported barriers to accessing the data needed for their studies, while 85 percent identified funding shortages as their greatest challenge. Nearly 70 percent said they had experienced threats to their safety or security—an issue that has escalated sharply in recent years.

CITR Executive Director Brandi Geurkink said the imbalance between the economic power of large technology companies and society’s investment in independent research creates risks for public accountability. “What we are witnessing is the dismantling of the independent checks we need on the most powerful technologies in human history,” she told TechEchelon.

Board member Nabiha Syed added that the problem extends beyond academic circles. “It’s a crisis for our rights to information about how technology is impacting our children, our communities, and our societies at large,” she said.

The report highlights past contributions of independent research, noting that it has played a central role in revealing issues such as algorithmic bias in facial recognition systems, harmful social media impacts on youth, and labor challenges linked to gig economy platforms. These insights, the report states, would not have emerged without independent investigators working outside of corporate structures.

In response to these challenges, CITR members are pooling resources to provide legal and security support for at-risk researchers, coordinating advocacy efforts, and building international networks to share data and strategies. The Coalition argues that independent technology research should be recognized and supported as public infrastructure, on par with healthcare and education.

The report concludes with a call for greater philanthropic and public funding, asserting that society cannot afford to rely solely on industry-led research. Without sustained investment, it warns, critical knowledge about the effects of technology on democracy, labor, health, and equity could disappear—leaving decisions about the digital world shaped primarily by the corporations that profit from it.