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Credit and Finance

Everyone deserves economic security.

We confront predatory practices and work to ensure that credit and other financial services are fair, affordable, and nondiscriminatory. In past work, we helped lead a coalition that successfully pressed Internet giants like Google to drop ads for online payday loans, and researched the equity implications of new sources of alternative data. Among our current initiatives, we are advising state attorneys general as they pursue high-tech credit discrimination cases, and helping national civil rights groups in their direct advocacy to financial technology companies.

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Emma Weil

In Logic Magazine, Emma writes about starter interrupt devices, the small networked devices that are killing car engines and ruining people’s lives.

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Latest work in this issue area

All work in this issue area
Proposals for the Biden Administration to Address Technology’s Role in Financial Services Discrimination

We sent a memo on technology’s role in financial services discrimination to agency leaders within the Biden administration.

Harlan Yu, Aaron Rieke, and Natasha Duarte

Examining Alternative Data in Underwriting and Credit Scoring

Aaron testified that some types of nontraditional data can help underserved consumers access credit.

Aaron Rieke

Comments to the CFPB on Alternative Credit Data

We explore the risks and benefits of new types of credit data for historically disadvantaged groups.

Upturn, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Americans for Financial Reform

Don’t let the hype over “social media scores” distract you

How much of the public concern and reporting about “social media scores” has come untethered from reality.

Aaron Rieke

Selected press and events

Quartz The fight against financial advertisers using Facebook for digital redlining

“‘We know from research that Lookalike Audiences can reproduce those protected characteristics, including gender and age and ethnicity in the new audience they create,’ said Aaron Rieke, managing director of Upturn.”

BuzzFeed News Google Banned Them, But Payday Lenders Still Have Bing

After Upturn’s work to ban payday loan ads on Google, BuzzFeed covers their continued presence on Bing, and our conversation with Microsoft.

Washington Post Google to ban payday loan advertisements

The Washington Post covers our work to ban payday loan ads from Google.

Mic This Is How Payday Lenders Dodge Google, Target the Vulnerable and Exploit the Poor

Aaron Rieke: “You’d think they’d have a good privacy policy, but none of these lead generation sites do. It’s no exaggeration to say that they reserve themselves with unlimited right to do whatever they want with their data.”