Facebook Said It Would Give Detailed Data to Academics. They’re Still Waiting

>As frustrations mount, researchers and the major foundations that fund their work fear that the ambitious project may not survive, multiple people told BuzzFeed News. A source with knowledge of discussions between the key parties involved in the project said the funders — which include the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the Democracy Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, Omidyar Network, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation — are now discussing ways to increase the pressure on the social media giant.

>“[Facebook has] definitely thrown major talent at the issue; but ultimately, the proof is in whether we ever get to eat the pudding,” David Lazer, a distinguished professor of political science and computer and information science at Northeastern University, and one of the researchers due to receive Facebook data, told BuzzFeed News.

Why do these researchers feel entitled to my personal data? Is Facebook willing to hand me data on the propaganda networks the media uses to manufacture consent?

I feel like journalists just put facebook between a rock and hard place.

"Facebook is sharing data with company X, arrrggh"

"Facebook isn't sharing data with Academics, arrrrgh"

Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced they were right to promise access to this data to begin with.

SS1 researcher responded on Twitter, https://twitter.com/SolomonMg/status/1164927631957143554.

TLDR: they've been working on building a framework to preserve privacy and then to train researchers on how to access the database. That isn't a simple process.