Hey #polcom community: @Jorgo47, I and other researchers will talk to the EU Advisory Group of , & managers tomorrow about Digital Platform Transparency/Data Access. Since we’re all in this together: What issues & questions should we put on the table?
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Hypothetical - "I am a Master's/PhD/Academic interested in researching the public Facebook page "Mental Health Support", I want to analyse their community support strategies and content -facebook.com/letsbementalhe - how can I analyse this important network?
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Well in the U.S. we recently had this ruling regarding scraping data from Linkedin: theverge.com/2019/9/10/2085
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So with the current trajectory etc are going to be creating a system where scraping is promoted, within which it's much more likely sensitive data will be taken, rather than allowing an API for public content.
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Especially because bad actors scraped in the past and will do so in the future. If I remember correctly the majority of data Cambridge Analytica collected was from scraped profiles (user ID + likes; to create custom audiences).
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Luca, since you can have bad actors using a full featured API just as easily, is the issue here that scraping means they can't as easily control who has access to that data? AFAIK, you can't even scrape Facebook without being logged in unlike sites like Twitter.
Facebook scraping is done through fake users. Facebook has some safeguards like throttling.
With an accessible API, Facebook can better steer what researchers who try to stay within the terms do with the platform.
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Seems like Facebook is fine with researchers scraping the platform. Or their spokesperson didn't look at the study.
I believe in case by case considerations. This study doesn't harm regular people. It helps holding politicians accountable.
nytimes.com/2018/07/17/tec
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