New Delhi: A team of researchers from AlgorithmWatch said they were forced to abandon their research project on monitoring the Instagram algorithm after legal threats from Facebook, the media reported.
The Berlin-based project went public in a post published this week with the conflict, citing the platform’s recent ban on the NYU Ad Observatory, reports The Verge.
“There are probably more cases of bullying that we don’t know about,” the post said.
“We hope more organizations will speak about their experience when they get in touch,” she added.
Launched in March 2020, AlgorithmWatch offers a browser plug-in that allows users to collect data from their Instagram feeds to gain insights into the prioritization of images and videos on the platform.
The project regularly published results showing that the algorithm encourages photos that show bare skin, and that photos with faces rank higher than screenshots of text.
Facebook denied the methodology but took no further action against AlgorithmWatch in the first year of the project.
In May, researchers said Facebook asked to meet the project leaders, accusing them of violating the platform’s terms of service. Another objection was that the project violated the GDPR as it collected data from users who had not consented to participate.
“We only collected data on content that Facebook displayed to the volunteers who installed the add-on,” the researchers said in their defense.
According to the report, the researchers ultimately decided to discontinue the project because they believed they would get legal action from the company if it continued.
The report mentioned that a Facebook representative confirmed the meeting but denied threats to sue the project, and said the company was open to finding privacy options to continue the research.
“We had concerns about their practices, which is why we contacted them several times so that they could comply with our conditions and continue their research, as we routinely do with other research groups when we encounter similar concerns,” the representative was quoted as saying by the tech Website. Also Read: Xiaomi Launches Mi 100W Wireless Charging Stand, which can fully charge the phone in 28 minutes
“We intend to continue to work with independent researchers, but in a way that doesn’t compromise data or people’s privacy,” she added. Also Read: National Pension System: Invest 50 Rupees a Day and Get 34 Lakhs in Retirement! Here is how
