This is very hopeful news. And this might seem perhaps a naive question, but if Europe allows researchers to access data can U.S.-based researchers use this as a vector in to worldwide data (i.e. on platforms such as Facebook?). In particular, as I know that geotagging is minimal on many platforms, if this is ethically open in Europe, does this open it for researchers globally? Sarah Oates Pronoun: she/her Professor and Senior Scholar Philip Merrill College of Journalism University of Maryland College Park, MD 20457 Email: soates@umd.edu Phone: 301 455 2332 www.media-politics.com Twitter: @media_politics *Support the UMD Student Crisis Fund <https://giving.umd.edu/giving/showPage.php?name=crisis-funding> today. * On Fri, Dec 4, 2020 at 7:59 AM Tromble, Rebekah via Air-L < air-l@listserv.aoir.org> wrote:

Dear colleagues,

I wanted to share some good news coming out of Europe regarding digital platform data access efforts.

Last week the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) announced its plans to set up a working group focused on access to digital platform data for research (

https://edmo.eu/2020/11/24/call-for-comment-on-gdpr-article-40-working-group... ). The intention is to develop a Code of Conduct under GDPR's Article 40 that will lay out privacy-compliant processes for data access and in turn create much greater clarity on the issue for platforms, researchers, and regulators alike.

And in its just-released European Democracy Action Plan ( https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/edap_communication.pdf), the European Commission has put its considerable weight behind platform accountability and data access efforts. In a key passage (see section 4.2), the Commission explicitly states that "the GDPR does not a priori and across the board prohibit the sharing of personal data by platforms with researchers." This is intended as a (carefully-worded) rebuke to the platforms' claims that GDPR prevents them from sharing data with our community. In the same passage the Commission also embraces EDMO's plans to develop a framework for "data disclosure" (i.e., the above-mentioned plans for a Code of Conduct). You should also keep your eye out for the Digital Services Act to bolster all of this next week.

Though there's still much work to be done, these developments represent a hard-fought and significant step forward. With the Commission's support, we have a much better chance of achieving responsible, ethical access to digital platform data for research--and ultimately, for greater platform accountability.

But with the work ahead in mind, I would highly value any input you might wish to share during the month-long consultation period established by EDMO ahead of its launch of the working group. (Again, see

https://edmo.eu/2020/11/24/call-for-comment-on-gdpr-article-40-working-group... ). This includes expressions of interest in participating in the working group itself. Comments should be sent to the following email address ( edmo@eui.eu). However, I am also happy to field questions, should you have them.

Rebekah

Dr. Rebekah Tromble Director, Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics, George Washington University | Associate Professor, School of Media & Public Affairs, George Washington University | Visiting Researcher, The Alan Turing Institute (London) | www.rebekahtromble.net iddp.gwu.edu _______________________________________________ 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

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