X-Lab
X-Lab is a technology-policy research organization founded in 2014 by Sascha Meinrath, a former vice president of the left-of-center New America Foundation. 1 2 The organization conducted broadband mapping research, digital equity advocacy, and election security consulting. 3
Contents
In July 2025, X-Lab was among more than 600 nonprofit organizations that signed a letter opposing a congressional inquiry by House Homeland Security Committee Chair Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) into federal grant recipients. 4
History and Background
X-Lab was initially founded in 2014 by Sascha Meinrath after stepping down as vice president of the New America Foundation, where he had founded and led the Open Technology Institute beginning in 2008. 5
X-Lab is affiliated with a consortium that as of 2026 included Pennsylvania State University, Washington State University, the University of Chicago, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. 6 As of 2026, Meinrath simultaneously held the Palmer Chair in Telecommunications at Penn State University and serving as director of X-Lab, with his Penn State email address listed as the organizational contact. 7
Leadership
As of 2026, Sascha Meinrath was director and founder of X-Lab. He was a former vice president of the left-of-center New America Foundation, where he founded the Open Technology Institute in 2008. He co-founded Measurement Lab and the Commotion Wireless project, and sat on the boards of organizations including the American Indian Policy Institute, the Brave New Software Foundation, and the Defending Rights and Dissent Foundation. He holds Brazilian, German, and U.S. citizenship and was an Ashoka Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship. 1 8 9
As of 2026, X-Lab listed several practitioners affiliated with the organization. Stephanie Taylor, a listed X-Lab practitioner, co-founded the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the Progressive Change Institute in 2009. Taylor was chief strategist on labor, advocacy, and political campaigns. 3 10
Sean Vitka was also listed as a practitioner at the X-Lab, working on surveillance reform. As of 2026, Vitka was a senior fellow at left-of-center advocacy organization Demand Progress and a co-founder of the Civil Liberties Coalition. Vitka previously worked as legislative counsel for Credo Action and federal policy manager at the Sunlight Foundation. 3 11
Activities
X-Lab has previously developed mapping work on broadband access and digital equity for federal agencies and state governments including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The organization co-developed the “Broadband Nutrition Label” standard, a consumer disclosure format for internet service provider speed claims that the FCC later adopted as a mandatory disclosure requirement. 6
On its website, X-Lab listed “democracy initiatives” as among its project areas as of 2026, with the others including consulting on election security with U.S. and international leaders and advising foreign democracy movements on internet-censorship circumvention technology. 6 In June 2026, X-Lab co-authored a report on Pennsylvania’s broadband policy, claiming the state had left $449 million in federal broadband funding unallocated while more than 130,000 locations remained unconnected, and called for governance changes. 12
In July 2025, X-Lab signed a letter, along with more than 600 other nonprofit organizations, opposing congressional inquiries sent by House Homeland Security Committee Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) into federal grant recipients. The letter characterized the inquiries as “an attempt to weaponize Congressional power” against organizations that disagreed with the second Trump administration‘s policy agenda. Other signatories to the letter included the AFL-CIO, Demand Progress, MoveOn, NRDC, and the Tides Foundation. 4