Facebook Faces Controversy Over Blocking Political Ad Research Accounts

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Facebook is facing controversy after blocking the account of a New York University researcher studying the spread of misinformation through political advertisements on social networking services (SNS).

According to the Associated Press, Facebook arbitrarily blocked the accounts of researchers and journalists leading NYU's "Ad Observatory" project on the 3rd (local time). Facebook stated that the reason for the block was that the project researchers violated its service terms by collecting data without permission.

Facebook claimed, "The research software used by the researchers to collect data bypasses our detection systems and sucks user data, raising concerns about privacy violations."

Mike Clark, Facebook's product management lead, said on a blog, "This research project is conducting serious unauthorized data scraping," adding, "After discovering this, we investigated and took measures to protect the platform."

However, the NYU research team is pushing back, arguing that Facebook is trying to exert control over research that could portray the company negatively.

Laura Edelson, the lead researcher of the Ad Observatory project, countered, "Access to the Facebook Ad Library is to uncover flaws in the system, identify misinformation included in political ads that sow distrust in the electoral system, and investigate how partisan fake news is amplified through Facebook."

She also raised suspicions about the true intent behind the account blocking, noting that although Facebook sent a cease-and-desist letter to the researchers in October last year, it did not block their accounts until the 3rd, shortly after notifying them that it was investigating the spread of misinformation related to the Capitol riot. In fact, the researchers have been investigating Facebook's Ad Library for several years.

Criticism of Facebook's actions is also coming from the political sphere. Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia pointed out that technology platform companies should collaborate with independent researchers and provide better empowerment. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota also stated, "The account blocking shows that Facebook intends to continue selling millions of dollars worth of political ads without proper disclosure."