Tech

Social networks: doors open to researchers?

Social networks have been acting with impunity for a long time which, in light of the large number of revelations in recent years, must be deeply reconsidered. We can put the starting point of the need for this reflection in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, or how the platform could be used to decant the electoral results in two key events: the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the presidential elections in the United States. in 2016, in which Donald Trump was elected.

Since then lhe public opinion has changed substantially with respect to social networks, and especially with respect to Facebook, which periodically stars in scandals, first related to the leakage of its users’ data, and later in relation to both how they are used to spread false information and what are the effects that these services have on those who used on a regular basis.

The situation is quite critical for social networks, because after all these revelations it seems that, finally, the regulators have assumed that it is time to do their job. Despite the announcement of the metaverse, from the very announcement of the change of name from Facebook to Meta I think it is quite clear that the main reason for this change is in the bad image associated with the brand, which affects all its tentacles.

The good news in this case comes to us from across the pond, and is that a group of US senators from the two main parties (Democrat and Republican) have announced a new bill, under which social networks will be obliged to share your data with researchers. More specifically, with researchers affiliated with universities that carry out projects that have been approved by the American National Science Foundation.

Social networks: doors open to researchers?

As we can read in the bill, which will nevertheless still have to go through all the necessary phases for its approval, social networks would be obliged to comply with data requests once the NSF has approved an investigation. In the event that the social network decides to refuse to grant such access, the service would lose the protection offered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Yes, precisely the one that Donald Trump considered repealing or at least limiting during his term. Such exclusion would pose a great threat to the social network that will be left out of said umbrella.

The algorithms that determine what content each user sees they are one of the Achilles heels of social networks, which is why every day there are more voices that advocate the permanent return of the chronological feed. Of course, this goes against the plans of social networks, which have developed these algorithms to increase the time users spend on their services. Thus, it seems unlikely that they will embrace this change willingly.

However, the opening of the data to researchers can be a determining element, forcing social networks to have to backtrack and accept, albeit reluctantly, to return to the initial model, in which the publications each viewed user were the last to have published their contacts. Obviously this does not solve all problems, but it would be a good starting point for the changes that, sooner or later, must come.

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