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Social Media Today reports that Facebook just announced that it had been forced to cut off a group of NYU researchers from accessing Facebook's internal usage data. The platform stated that the NYU team had failed to adhere to its stringent research usage conditions, which got implemented in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal a few years back.
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"For months, we've attempted to work with New York University to provide three of their researchers the precise access they've asked for in a privacy-protected way. Today, we disabled the accounts, apps, Pages and platform access associated with NYU's Ad Observatory Project and its operators after our repeated attempts to bring their research into compliance with our Terms."
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Facebook says the NYU team had been using "unauthorized means" to access and collect data from Facebook users.
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"We took these actions to stop unauthorized scraping and protect people's privacy in line with our privacy program under the FTC Order."
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Facebook seems keen to stay within the rules and ensure that absolutely no potential misuse happens, but the FTC never imposed any such conditions. In fact, the organization "does not bar Facebook from creating exceptions for good-faith research in the public interest". Samuel Levine is the Acting Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection:
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"I write concerning Facebook's recent insinuation that its actions against an academic research project conducted by NYU's Ad Observatory were required by the company's consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. As the company has since acknowledged, this is inaccurate. The FTC is committed to protecting the privacy of people, and efforts to shield targeted advertising practices from scrutiny run counter to that mission."
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So, was this just a case of Facebook being extra cautious - or was the NYU team was getting a little too close to revealing potentially damaging findings?
