Ben operates at the intersection of software, law, and economics. He combines these disciplines to offer cutting-edge insights ahead of the pack. Whether uncovering the complicated workings of a new product, or identifying the harms from a powerful gatekeeper, Ben writes software to prove what’s going on, then analyzes and explains in unmatched clarity. Ben currently accepts consulting and litigation matters both directly and as Senior Advisor at Geradin Partners.
Ben was previously the Chief Economist for Web Experiences, Strategy, and Policy at Microsoft. In that role, he advised the company about a variety of questions at the intersection of software, strategy, economics, and public policy. His marquee public contribution was measuring the productivity benefits of Microsoft’s AI tools.
For eleven years, Ben was a faculty member at the Harvard Business School, where he studied and taught about the economics of online markets. His work combined software engineering with legal and economic analysis, aiming to understand both how online markets function and also how they might improve.
Ben was early to see the problems created by powerful tech platforms. When politicians of all stripes were singing Google’s praises, Ben flagged the problem of growing market concentration in Internet search including risks for advertisers. He was the first to uncover Google’s “MADA” contract which forced phone manufacturers and telcos to preinstall all its apps if they wanted Google Play and YouTube — requirements that then-CEO Eric Schmidt had denied in sworn testimony. Ben’s remarkable revelation of Google MADA got the company fined >€4 billion in Europe.
Ben’s online privacy investigations uncovered a series of privacy violations including Google Toolbar continuing to track user browsing even after users “disable” the toolbar, as well as Facebook revealing users’ names and details to advertisers (despite promising not to).
Ben worked to make Internet infrastructure more accountable and more efficient. He flagged systemic flaws in Internet filtering systems used in US libraries and schools, and he tested Internet filtering in China and Saudi Arabia. He helped devise institutions and incentives to mitigate the worst effects of scarcity of IPv4 addresses and encourage migration to IPv6.
Ben led the fight against deceptive advertising software, “spyware” and “adware.” He provided the first irrefutable proof of unwanted software sneaking onto users’ computers without consent — not to mention “confirmation” screens that installed software even when a user declined. He identified ad networks and advertisers whose money set the schemes in motion, along with affiliate commission fraud and click fraud that drained advertisers’ budgets.
Ben has long focused on protecting and helping consumers. He critiqued online “safety” certifications that failed to protect users, and exposed myriad deceptive advertising practices. Ben brought class action litigation vindicating the rights of minors to get refunds when they buy digital trinkets from Apple and Facebook, and he protected advertisers from worthless and unwanted ad placements.
Ben was an early skeptic of Bitcoin, blockchain, and supposedly-decentralized finance. Years before others realized the problems with these systems, Ben published a 2014 critique that Bitcoin actually increases costs for consumers, and a 2015 article flagging illicit and unlawful activities, the risks of lurking centralization, and the need for greater consumer protection.
As a student fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Ben developed tools for use in classes and special events. He oversaw ICANN Public Meeting webcasts including the technology used at ICANN’s first twelve quarterly meetings.
Ben’s consulting practice includes preventing and detecting online fraud (especially advertising fraud). Representative clients included AOL, the City of Los Angeles, the Future of TV Coalition, the National Association of Broadcasters, Microsoft, the National Football League, the New York Times, Universal Music Group, the Washington Post, and Wells Fargo.
As a teacher, Ben brought both academic rigor and modern technology to the HBS classroom. His digital chalkboard software replaced outdated chalkboards — making HBS “board work” easier to read and more accessible to students with impaired vision. He was the first HBS faculty member to include software development within an MBA course, devising creative exercises to simultaneously engage students new to coding just as much as those with significant prior experience.
Ben holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Economics at Harvard University, a J.D. from the Harvard Law School, an A.M. in Statistics from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College (summa cum laude). He is a member of the Bar of Massachusetts and Washington.