I strongly agree with Jeff. Facebook and similar social media services have so far escaped a level of scrutiny and regulation commensurate with their influence in (at least American) society. A system through which independent researchers can obtain data samples (with all the necessary privacy protections) from these services is the very least we need as part of a comprehensive regulatory agenda. I think such an agenda should include privacy protections, provisions related to stalking/cyberbullying, competitiveness protections, free speech protections, and other related issues. With the Democratic Party in turmoil after the election, there may be space to put such an agenda into its platform. - - - - - Dr. Luis E. Hestres Assistant Professor Department of Communication The University of Texas at San Antonio One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78249-0732 http://www.luishestres.com Want to support our tax deductible nonprofit work by contributing to the UTSA department of communication? Please visit: https://giving.utsa.edu/FriendsofCommunication Thanks for your support! On November 12, 2016 at 10:27:26 AM, Jeff Pooley (pooley@muhlenberg.edu) wrote: Facebook needs to open up its data to impartial, outside researchers: the future of democracy in the U.S. may hang in the balance: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/11/11/we_can_t_know_whether_fac... --------- Jeff Pooley, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Media & Communication Muhlenberg College 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA 18104 484-664-3677 jeffpooley.com _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/