[Air-L] NYT: Scholars Have Data on Millions of Facebook Users. Who’s Guarding It?

[Joly MacFie]

https://nyti.ms/2KDfaHU

[extracts)
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Last month, Facebook also narrowed the number of academics it would work
with, saying it would collaborate with those
<https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104797374385071> who wanted to
research the impact of social media on elections through an “independent
election research commission.” Only scholars with election-related projects
can apply.

“We are taking a hard look at the information apps can use when you connect
them to Facebook, as well as other data practices,” Susan Glick, a Facebook
spokeswoman, said in a statement. “These other data practices include
academic research.”
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“Academics would argue that we need access to primary data,” said Dr.
Nielsen of Oxford. He said the changes might lead to an asymmetry, with
internal Facebook researchers accumulating mounds of data while outside
academics would not.

“If that happens, only Facebook will really know very much about how
Facebook actually operates and how people act on Facebook,” he said.



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Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
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