Democrats urge Facebook against suspension of researchers’ accounts

Democratic senators are pressuring Facebook for its decision to suspend the accounts of researchers at New York University (NYU) who have created a tool to analyze political ads and the spread of disinformation on the platform.

Meaning. Amy KlobucharAmy Klobuchar Garland calls on Congress to act on voting rights in editorial Biden signs bill awarding Congress gold medal to Jan. 6 officers Senate Democrats unveil bill to protect election officials and prevent electoral subversion (Minnesota.), Mark WarnerMark Robert Warner The Senate should support innovation and pass the Lummis-Wyden-Toomey amendment. FTC hits Facebook for ‘inaccurate’ explanation for ban on researchers | Yelp to allow screening for businesses requiring PLUS vaccination (Go.) And Chris CoonChris Andrew CoonsThe Hill’s Morning Report – Brought to you by Facebook – White House Democrats play blame game on evictions Graham’s COVID-19 ‘breakthrough’ case shakes Senate Lack of transatlantic trade cooperation threatens targets global climate change MORE (Del.) Wrote a letter to Facebook on Monday requesting details of the platform’s decision to suspend accounts and effectively halt researchers’ work on the spread of disinformation on Facebook.

They underscored their post by noting a letter the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent to Facebook calling for the platform’s explanation for the suspension of accounts due to its “inaccurate” deal with the agency.

“We were surprised to learn that Facebook has terminated access to its platform for researchers linked to the NYU Ad Observatory project. The opaque and unregulated online advertising platforms that social media companies maintain have allowed a hotbed of disinformation and consumer scams to proliferate, and we must find solutions to these problems, ”the senators wrote, according to the report. a copy of the letter shared with The Hill. .

Facebook last week suspended the accounts of researchers Laura Edelson and Damon McCoy who had created the Ad Observer tool. The tool allowed Facebook users to voluntarily share limited anonymous information about political advertisements shown to them by the platform and allows researchers and journalists to follow trends in political advertising on Facebook.

Facebook had sent researchers a cease and desist letter demanding that they stop the tool and remove the results of previous research last year, two weeks before the 2020 presidential election.

But the platform only responded to its requests last week. According to the Knight First Amendment Institute, which represents researchers in this case, Facebook took action just hours after Edelson told the platform that researchers were studying the spread of disinformation on Jan.6.

Facebook’s chief product officer, Mark Clark, said in a blog post that the company suspended accounts because the tool used “unauthorized means to access and collect data” in violation of its terms. use of the platform. He also said Facebook must take action “in accordance with our privacy program under the FTC order.”

The FTC imposed an order on Facebook in 2019, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which in part requires Facebook to obtain the user’s “express and affirmative consent” before sharing data with a third party.

Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne later says Wired in an interview that the consent decree did not require Facebook to suspend the researcher’s account, rather it was Facebook’s requirement under the order to implement a “comprehensive privacy program.”

But the FTC then hit back at Facebook in a letter accusing the company of sharing an “inaccurate” explanation.

“If you had honored your commitment to contact us in advance, we would have pointed out that the consent decree does not prohibit Facebook from creating exceptions for good faith research in the public interest. Indeed, the FTC supports efforts to shed light on opaque business practices, particularly around surveillance-based advertising, ”wrote Samuel Levine, acting director of the FTC’s Office of Consumer Protection.

Democratic senators, in their letter, urge Facebook to explain why they did not contact the FTC first, as well as whether the platform maintains that the consent decree or other FTC orders required it to deactivate the FTC. ” access to the researchers’ tool.

“While we agree that Facebook must protect user privacy, it is also imperative that Facebook allow credible academic researchers and journalists like those involved in the Ad Observatory project to conduct independent research that will help understand how the business can better tackle the disinformation, disinformation and other harmful activity that proliferates on its platforms, ”the Democrats wrote.