## Colophon title:: Demand five precepts to aid socialmedia watchdogs type:: [[literature-note]] tags:: [[dcn]] [[proposed measures]] url:: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02341-9 file:: status: [[bean]] ## Notes The 5 precepts > First, give researchers access to the same targeting tools that platforms offer to advertisers and commercial partners. > Second, for publicly viewable content, allow researchers to combine and share data sets by supplying keys to application programming interfaces. > Third, explicitly allow users to donate data about their online behaviour for research, and make code used for such studies publicly reviewable for security flaws. > Fourth, create safe-haven protections that recognize the public interest. > Fifth, mandate regular audits of algorithms that moderate content and serve ads. On the conflict between research and abuse (a la Cambrige Analytica or ClearView AI) > These incidents have led tech companies to design systems to prevent misuse — but such systems also prevent research necessary for oversight and scrutiny. To ensure that platforms act fairly and benefit society, there must be ways to protect user data and allow independent oversight. > > **Part of the solution is to create legal systems, not just technical ones, that distinguish between bad intent and legitimate, public-spirited research that can help to uncover social media’s effects on economies and societies.**