The report states that “access to social media data by independent researchers is at the forefront of efforts to improve tech transparency. Article 40 of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) requires providers of very large online platforms and very large online search engines to provide vetted researchers with access to data, subject to certain conditions. In the United States, lawmakers are considering several bills, which vary in their details, that would require social media companies to provide data to researchers.” This report also examines “existing legal protections for stored social media data in the US and the EU and how they might be impacted by researcher access to social media data.”

The views, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this report are solely those of its author(s) and do not reflect the views of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, or its employees.