Facebook has locked down its platform. Why that's bad news for researchers.

File this under "lose-lose" for Facebook.

A group of high-profile researchers and journalists sent a formal request to social media giant to amend its Terms of Service in order to enable studies of Facebook that promote the public good. But either way Facebook responds could put the company in a tight spot.

The Knight First Amendment Institute sent a letter to Facebook about the way its Terms of Service apply to journalists and researchers. The letter was cosigned by journalists from the New York Times and several other publications as well as experts from handful of academic institutions.

They are asking Facebook to amend its ToS to include a "Safe Harbor" policy for people using Facebook for studies that benefit the public good. Facebook has locked down its platform in recent years, in large part to prevent more data scandals like Cambridge Analytica, but it's also had the effect of also cutting off legitimate research about Facebook — the kind of research that wants to closely examine how content on the network is shared and distributed. Read more...