New social media transparency bill would force Facebook to open up to researchers

A bipartisan group of US senators have announced a new bill that would require social media companies to share platform data with independent researchers.

The bill was announced Thursday by Democratic senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and also Rob Portman (R-OH), a Republican. Named the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA), it would establish new rules compelling social media platforms to share data with “qualified researchers,” defined as university-affiliated researchers pursuing projects that have been approved by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Continue reading…