来源：《Science》
原文见刊日期：2022年2月11日
Despite the potential societal benefits of granting independent researchers access to digital platform data, such as promotion of transparency and accountability, online platform companies have few legal obligations to do so and potentially stronger business incentives not to. Without legally binding mechanisms that provide greater clarity on what and how data can be shared with independent researchers in privacy-preserving ways, platforms are unlikely to share the breadth of data necessary for robust scientific inquiry and public oversight. There are two notable legislative efforts aimed at opening up platform data: the Digital Services Act, recently approved by the European Parliament, and the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act, recently proposed by several US senators. Although the legislation could support researchers’ access to data, they could also fall short in many ways, highlighting the complex challenges in mandating data access for independent research and oversight.
尽管允许独立研究人员访问数字平台数据有潜在的社会效益，比如促进透明度和问责，但网络平台公司没有什么法律义务这样做，而且可能有更大的商业动机不这样做。如果没有具有法律约束力的机制，在以保护隐私的方式与独立研究人员共享哪些数据以及如何共享数据方面提供更明确的规定，平台就不太可能为强有力的科学探索和公共监督提供所需的数据广度。有两项显著的立法努力旨在开放平台数据：最近由欧洲议会通过的《数字服务法案》和最近由几位美国参议员提出的《平台问责与透明法案》。尽管这些立法可以支持研究人员获取数据，但它们可能在许多方面存在不足，这突显了为独立研究和监督强制获取数据的复杂挑战。
As large platforms take on increasingly influential roles in our online social, economic, and political interactions, there is a growing demand for transparency and accountability through mandated data disclosures. Research insights from platform data can help, for example, to understand unintended harms of platform use on vulnerable populations, such as children and marginalized communities; identify coordinated foreign influence campaigns targeting elections; and support public health initiatives, such as documenting the spread of antivaccine mis- and disinformation.
随着大型平台在我们的网络社交、经济和政治互动中发挥越来越大的影响力，通过强制数据披露来实现透明度和问责的需求也越来越大。从平台数据中获得的研究发现可以帮助理解平台使用对弱势群体(如儿童和边缘社区)的意外伤害；确定针对选举的协调一致的外国影响运动；并支持公共卫生倡议，例如记录反疫苗错误信息和虚假信息的传播。
The “Facebook Papers,” leaked by a whistleblower, gave unprecedented insight into that platform’s opaque practices. But reliance on whistleblowers and leaked data is untenable. Researchers need lawful access to platform data appropriately scoped to advance scientific knowledge and evidence-based policy-making. Yet, how to do this responsibly and in compliance with relevant data privacy laws and regulations remains debated.
一名吹哨人泄露的“Facebook文件”，让人们对Facebook平台的不透明做法有了前所未有的了解。但依靠吹哨人和泄露的数据是站不住脚的。研究人员需要合法访问适当范围内的平台数据，以促进科学知识和循证决策。然而，如何负责任地做到这一点，并遵守相关的数据隐私法律和法规，仍然存在争议。
Platforms have made data available to independent researchers through public application programming interfaces (APIs); however, because platforms’ sharing of data with independent researchers has been primarily voluntary, data access has often been unreliable, inconsistent, and incompatible with research needs. For example, research questions that require data unavailable through an API, such as impression data and demographics of those exposed to disinformation campaigns, must rely on research partnerships with a platform or circumvention methods such as web scraping or requesting data directly from users. These methods are often not ideal because they pose ethical and legal concerns and may result in collection of data that is limited in terms of scale, quality, and precision.
平台通过公共应用程序编程接口（API）向独立研究人员提供数据；然而，由于平台与独立研究人员共享数据基本上是自愿的，数据访问往往不可靠、不一致，并且与研究需要不兼容。例如，需要通过API无法获得数据的研究问题，如受到虚假信息活动影响的人的印象数据和人口统计数据，必须依赖与平台的研究伙伴关系或规避方法，如网页抓取或直接向用户请求数据。这些方法通常并不理想，因为它们引起了道德和法律方面的问题，并且可能导致收集的数据在规模、质量和精度方面受到限制。