Researchers say Facebook restrictions will hamper studies

GLOBAL – Academics from a number of universities have penned an open letter to Facebook, saying the social network’s recent move to change third-party data access will damage genuine research.

Facebook 1_crop

Responding to the recent scandal involving alleged misuse of personal data, Facebook announced earlier this month it would change the way in which third-parties could access data on the platform, restricting access to application programming interfaces (APIs).

However, academics have said the move will hamper genuine research on Facebook-owned platforms.

The open letter, published by Queensland University digital media researcher Axel Brun and signed by 29 researchers from academic institutions around the world, said: “While these changes may generate some positive publicity for the company…they are likely to compound the real problem, further diminishing transparency and opportunities for independent oversight.”

The letter said the new API restrictions would effectively “consolidate Facebook’s position as the main analytics and advertising broker” and added, “these changes are as much about strengthening Facebook’s business model of data control as they are about actually improving data privacy for users”.

Platforms should not be allowed to position themselves as “gatekeepers for the research that investigates how their platforms are used”, the letter argued, adding, “instead, we need far more transparent data access models that clearly articulate to platform users who may be accessing their data, and for what purposes”.

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments


Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts