Cheng-Hsiu (Shin) Yang
I build and study governance systems for communities that mainstream platforms were never designed to protect — spending a decade running one such platform before turning to research.
I'm currently a Research Assistant at UCLA's Institute for Technology, Law & Policy, and a 2025 Research Affiliate at the University of Michigan's DISCO Network. My work sits at the intersection of platform governance, privacy law, and product strategy — asking how digital communities can stay safe and accountable without relying on identity verification or surveillance.
Before turning to research, I founded and served as long-term steward of Lezismore, a privacy-first digital community for Taiwan's sexual minorities, operating continuously since 2015 without corporate backing, real-name requirements, or advertising. Governing it — recruiting a global volunteer team, designing moderation without surveillance, and living with a decade of the resulting trade-offs — is the empirical foundation for my current research. I write about the specifics in Work and Writing.
Applying to Information Studies PhD programs (Fall 2027 entry) — research interests in platform governance, privacy-preserving design, and AI/labor at the intersection of law and technology. Happy to talk.
Education
University of California, Los Angeles
LL.M. Candidate, Technology Law Specialization, Platform Governance Focus —
School of Law, 2025–2026
Committee Member, UCLA Law Technology Student Advisory Group; Student
Well-being Advisory Group (SWAG), representing the LL.M. cohort. Dean's
Tuition Fellowship; CSW Travel Grant; WCTEO Scholarship. High Pro Bono
Distinction: Labor & Economic Justice Project; NGO Due Diligence Review
Project.
National Chengchi University
LL.M., Graduate Institute of Law and Interdisciplinary Studies, 2013–2017
(GPA 3.828/4.0)
Master's thesis:
an empirical legal study of Taiwan's Gender Equity Education Act, analyzing
50+ Supreme Administrative Court cases (2004–2017) against the Act's
practical enforcement. Representative, Academic Affairs Conference of NCCU;
Member, Student Appeal Council.
National Taiwan Normal University
B.A., Department of Chinese, 2008–2012
Vice President, NTNU's 15th Student Union — successfully opposed a proposed
policy of collective dormitory punishment under significant institutional
pressure; organized the university's first major gender-equality campus
event.
Professional Experience
| Mar. 2026 – Present | UCLA Institute for Technology, Law & Policy (ITLP) Research Assistant |
| Feb. 2025 – Mar. 2026 | University of Michigan, DISCO Network of Digital Studies Institute Research Affiliate |
| Oct. 2015 – Present | Lezismore Founder & Long-Term Steward |
| Feb. 2023 – Mar. 2023 | Tikdin – Break into Tech Assistant Product Manager |
| May 2023 – Jun. 2024 | Samebest Co., Ltd Product Manager |
| Aug. 2021 – Apr. 2022 | I Connect Web Solution Project Manager |
| Mar. 2023 – Apr. 2023 | Zoustec Technologies Co. Ltd. Project Director |
| Jul. 2018 – Jan. 2019 | Right & Great Co. Ltd. Legal Adviser & Executive Assistant |
| May 2013 – Jun. 2018 | HCT Clinic Legal Adviser & Executive Assistant |
| Sep. 2012 – Aug. 2013 | Fa Jia Law Firm / Taiwan Jury Association Paralegal |
| Apr. 2014 – Sep. 2015 | Center for Social Sciences Data, National Chengchi University (NCCU) Research Assistant |
| Jul. 2013 – Jan. 2014 | Public Administration & Business Management Education Center, NCCU Research Assistant |
Skills
Languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, Taiwanese Hokkien · Community platforms: Discourse, WordPress, CodiMD, Bookstack, n8n · Privacy & compliance: GDPR, CCPA, data protection risk management · Infrastructure: AWS, Docker, Cloudflare, Linux · Product & research tools: Figma, Notion, Jira, Google Analytics