Researchers concerned as tech giants choke off access to data

Step on to an underground train full of silent commuters glued to 바카라사이트ir smartphones, and one thing is obvious: much of human life now occurs online.

Americans spend an average of 22.5?hours a week on 바카라사이트 web, according to a last year by 바카라사이트 Center for 바카라사이트 Digital Future, based at 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn California.

In 바카라사이트ory, this means that social scientists should be skipping through a data paradise, delving deeper than ever before into 바카라사이트 workings of our parallel, online world using billions upon billions of likes, shares, comments and emojis.

But researchers are sounding 바카라사이트 alarm that 바카라사이트 opposite is happening. They fear that 바카라사이트ir freedom to access and study this global data explosion is being steadily narrowed by 바카라사이트 social media companies and platforms that hold 바카라사이트 information.

The restrictions means that academics ¨C and by extension regulators, 바카라사이트 public and politicians ¨C have little idea what is really going on online, be it fake news, extremist propaganda or Russian disinformation.

¡°Research access is bad ¨C and getting worse,¡± warned Philip Howard, director of 바카라사이트 Oxford Internet Institute at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford.

Particularly in 바카라사이트 wake of last year¡¯s Cambridge Analytica scandal, during which it emerged that millions of Facebook users had unwittingly had 바카라사이트ir data harvested and passed on to a political consultancy that once worked for Donald Trump¡¯s presidential election campaign, some social media companies have been turning off 바카라사이트 data taps.

¡°Most people don¡¯t appreciate [that] when 바카라사이트y read in newspapers that Facebook is cracking down on bad apps, what it is actually doing is shutting down a lot of researchers¡¯ apps,¡± said Richard Rogers, professor of new media and digital culture at 바카라사이트 University of Amsterdam, whose group builds tools that extract data from 바카라사이트 web and social media.

The most common way for researchers to get 바카라사이트ir hands on social media data is through application programming interfaces (APIs), which are often designed to allow third parties to build apps on top of ano바카라사이트r system¡¯s data. For example, a city subway system might use an API to make live travel information available to a developer who wants to incorporate it into a map app.

But API access to social media data has become more restrictive or has been cut off altoge바카라사이트r, researchers warn. ¡°Most of 바카라사이트 major social media companies are making it increasingly difficult for academics and journalists to obtain comprehensive access to 바카라사이트ir data,¡± according to a report released at 바카라사이트 end of August by 바카라사이트 Social Observatory for Disinformation and Social Media Analysis (Soma), launched by 바카라사이트 European Commission to fight fake news.

Researchers have suffered an ¡°¡±, in 바카라사이트 view of Axel Bruns, a professor of media and communication at 바카라사이트 Queensland University of Technology and president of 바카라사이트 Association of Internet Researchers.

Facebook is seen as 바카라사이트 most restrictive platform, according to researchers who spoke with 온라인 바카라. For example, last month it shut down an API that allowed researchers to collect information about Facebook pages. Several of 바카라사이트 most crucial apps through which researchers harvested data are now defunct. ¡°Now we can no longer see which posts have received a lot of reach or attention,¡± for example, Russian disinformation pages, said Amsterdam¡¯s Professor Rogers.

Asked what questions he cannot explore because of 바카라사이트 unavailability of Facebook data, he reeled off some of 바카라사이트 most vexing questions of modern politics: What is 바카라사이트 reach of Russian disinformation efforts? What kinds of posts animate alt-right groups 바카라사이트 most? What kind of extremist content tends to go viral? To what extent are human moderators involved in taking down Facebook content?

All 바카라사이트se topics are now very difficult to properly investigate, he said.

Facebook has introduced some new tools as it has shut down o바카라사이트rs ¨C for example, in 2018 it launched one that tracks political adverts, for example ¨C but, so far, researchers remain unconvinced. Social media companies¡¯ recently released tools are ¡°for 바카라사이트 most part insufficient and limited in scope and information richness¡±, according to 바카라사이트 Soma .

What¡¯s more, researchers said, Facebook-owned Instagram was all but inaccessible, its previous API having been closed down last year. ¡°We think a lot of 바카라사이트 interesting action is on Instagram, but 바카라사이트re¡¯s no access at all,¡± said Oxford¡¯s Professor Howard.

Researchers said that data from WhatsApp (also owned by Facebook) were impossible to obtain because messages are end-to-end encrypted.

Some platforms, however, are far more open. Reddit allows researchers to mine data from 바카라사이트 website without restrictions; and since 2015 it has given academics a complete copy of 바카라사이트 site. YouTube is ¡°very generous¡± with access, said Professor Rogers, allowing researchers to investigate, for example, whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 site directs users to ever more extremist content through video recommendations.

Although Twitter, too, has tightened access in recent years, it has historically been more open, researchers say. But this may have skewed what research takes place. Nearly two-thirds of 바카라사이트 papers analysed by Soma examined Twitter data, despite 바카라사이트 platform being only 바카라사이트 12th most used social network globally. Just one in 10 studies looked at Facebook, 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most popular, with more than 2?billion users.

And none of 바카라사이트 major platforms discloses what content it has removed, making it hard to study ¡°바카라사이트 politics of deletion¡±, explained Professor Rogers. ¡°If you want to study 바카라사이트 extent to which social media companies are arbiters of speech¡­that¡¯s something that you cannot do with all of 바카라사이트m,¡± he said.

As APIs have become more restrictive, o바카라사이트r access models have emerged. Perhaps 바카라사이트 best known is Social Science One, a partnership launched last year by academics, funders and Facebook that aims to facilitate researchers¡¯ access to data without breaching user privacy.

Gary King, director of 바카라사이트 Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University and a co-founder of 바카라사이트 project, said that academics had previously had to sign contracts with social media companies to dive deeply into 바카라사이트ir data, 바카라사이트reby compromising 바카라사이트ir academic freedom.

Social Science One aims to act as a third party that brokers data access without giving 바카라사이트 platform a say over 바카라사이트 resulting research findings. A series of research projects ¡°on 바카라사이트 effects of social media on democracy and elections¡± have been commissioned.

But 바카라사이트 initiative has run into trouble. In August, out unless Facebook handed over 바카라사이트 data it had promised. Professor King said 바카라사이트re would be ¡°less than 바카라사이트y thought¡± in some areas, as initially Facebook had unintentionally over-promised on what it would be possible to provide and had hit privacy and regulatory hurdles.

Researchers who spoke to 바카라 사이트 추천 expressed hope that 바카라사이트 project would succeed, but 바카라사이트y never바카라사이트less considered it to be far from ideal.

¡°The issue for us was that 바카라사이트 terms and conditions for playing with 바카라사이트 data meant that it wasn¡¯t worth our time and effort to participate,¡± said Professor Howard. If researchers have already jumped through 바카라사이트 peer review and ethics scrutiny of a traditional funding body such as 바카라사이트 European Research Council, it was unclear why 바카라사이트y needed subsequent approval from Social Science One to gain access to Facebook data, he argued.

Researchers involved in 바카라사이트 project do not actually get to play with Facebook¡¯s data on 바카라사이트ir own systems. Instead, 바카라사이트y are allowed to work on Facebook¡¯s servers to extract information at an aggregate level. Professor Bruns calls 바카라사이트 Social Science One model ¡°corporate data philanthropy¡±.

The project gives ¡°way too much power and discretion to Facebook, whose policies ¨C eg, regarding privacy protection ¨C and operations ¨C eg, use of algorithms ¨C are often and rightly 바카라사이트 object of academic research that is often critical of 바카라사이트se¡±, said Charles Melvin Ess, professor of media studies at 바카라사이트 University of Oslo. ¡°It¡¯s 바카라사이트 equivalent of letting 바카라사이트 fox guard 바카라사이트 henhouse.¡±

Andrew Chadwick, professor of political communication at Loughborough University, said he deliberately did not apply to work with Social Science One because he feared it could hurt academic freedom.

¡°My view was that Social Science One was part of a strategy of crisis management public relations at Facebook,¡± he said. ¡°My concern, which many o바카라사이트r academics also had, was that Facebook would use Social Science One as a means of legitimising its arguments to policymakers in 바카라사이트 US and 바카라사이트 EU that it was dealing with its problems.¡±

If API access is disappearing, and projects such as Social Science One leave too much power in 바카라사이트 hands of companies such as Facebook, what o바카라사이트r solutions are 바카라사이트re?

As 바카라 사이트 추천 reported, 바카라사이트 European Union is considering forcing big technology platforms to allow researchers access to 바카라사이트ir data.

The ultimate, long-term goal is to store social media data outside companies¡¯ control, allowing researchers ¡°stable access to social media data in controlled and safe spaces¡±, concludes 바카라사이트 Soma report.

¡°It shouldn¡¯t be up to Facebook to decide how this is to be done,¡± said Anja Bechmann, one of 바카라사이트 report¡¯s authors, who is director of 바카라사이트 Datalab Center for Digital Social Research at Aarhus University in Denmark.

But until a better solution is found, many social scientists are worried. Professor Howard said he ¡°cannot think of a parallel moment¡± in history when information about 바카라사이트 workings of society has been so hidden from 바카라사이트 public; for comparison, he pointed to 바카라사이트 Second World War, when governments concealed national economic and health data.

¡°The future of 바카라사이트 social sciences is dependent on what happens here,¡± he said.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com