Meta and TikTok are obstructing researchers' access to data, EU commission rules

Cambridge Analytica and the DSA

• Some argue Cambridge Analytica shows why platforms should refuse data access: “research” can be a cover for abuse and the platform takes the reputational hit.
• Others respond that the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) would have blocked that case: no safeguards, no institutional liability, and not focused on systemic risks.
• There’s debate over jurisdiction: critics say DSA can’t realistically control non‑EU actors; supporters point to EU action against companies like Clearview as evidence they are trying to project enforcement extraterritorially, albeit with mixed effectiveness.

Research Access vs Privacy and Liability

• A core tension: regulators want researcher access for transparency; many commenters see this as a “privacy nightmare” and don’t trust academics to secure data.
• Others counter that (a) platforms themselves are the bigger privacy risk, (b) current problem is lack of access even to public data, and (c) DSA access is meant to be aggregate, privacy‑preserving, and heavily filtered.
• Concern is raised that any breach will be blamed on the platform (“5 million Facebook logins hacked”), regardless of who leaked.

Elections, Influence, and “Censorship”

• One side fears unregulated platforms and specific political actors using social media and microtargeting to covertly skew elections, likening this to Cambridge Analytica.
• Another side objects to the phrase “influencing elections,” saying it’s just campaigning and is being selectively framed as sinister when opponents do it.
• Deep disagreement over whether DSA‑style transparency is legitimate oversight or a slippery slope to government‑driven censorship and speech control.

EU Regulation, Industry, and Power Balance

• Critics see the EU as over‑regulating, scaring away “modern industry” and contributing to Europe’s weaker tech sector and economy.
• Defenders argue self‑regulation has failed in other domains; the real goal is balancing power between governments, platforms, and independent researchers.
• Some suggest losing certain US products may be acceptable if it pushes Europe to build its own alternatives.

Implementation, Scraping, and User Consent

• Engineers worry about the practical burden of bespoke data requests; lawyers front it, but engineers must build and run compliance tooling.
• Scraping is proposed as a workaround; others note platforms block and sue scrapers, which is used to justify formal access rules.
• Several commenters are uneasy that platform users become de facto research subjects, with only limited or unclear ways to opt out (e.g., making profiles private).