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Meta plans to discontinue key disinformation tracking instrument before significant US elections
In an unexpected decision that could potentially impact the upcoming US elections, Meta has stated that they will cease the operations of CrowdTangle, a widely used social media surveillance and transparency tool that assisted researchers in identifying and tracing online misinformation and hate speech.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, recently disclosed plans to shut down CrowdTangle, a widely used social media observation and transparency instrument. This decision, set to be implemented on August 14, 2024, has spurred considerable discussions among journalists, researchers, and civil society groups, especially in light of the approaching US presidential election.
CrowdTangle has been instrumental in helping journalists and researchers monitor the spread of false and misleading information on social media. The foreseen closure of the platform has sparked worries about potential setbacks in initiatives to make tech firms responsible for their part in disseminating incorrect data.
Meta claims it will substitute CrowdTangle with a new Content Library API. Nevertheless, this change will require researchers and nonprofit organizations to request access to the company's data.
Entities like the Mozilla Foundation and various other civic groups have criticized that the new product is missing many of CrowdTangle's critical features. They have encouraged Meta to keep the original tool available until January 2025.
Reacting to the criticism, Meta's representative Andy Stone justified the decision. He said that the Content Library would offer data that is more detailed than what CrowdTangle provides and would be available to nonprofits, scholars, and experts in election integrity.
Brandon Silverman, who co-founded CrowdTangle and served as its CEO, and continued to develop the tool post Facebook's takeover in 2016, underscored his conviction that it's crucial for platforms to make their data available for external review, according to a Wired report. He stressed the necessity for regulatory bodies and public representatives to set legal mandates concerning the transparency of platforms and accessibility to data.
Silverman emphasized the Digital Services Act by the European Union, which enforces disclosure rules concerning data sharing. He pointed out an increasing pattern among different platforms, such as Alibaba and TikTok, to provide schemes that allow external researchers to access current public content.
Silverman admitted to encountering difficulties in executing these measures, highlighting Twitter's stringent data access rules and Meta's decrease in data sharing programs. He underscored the need for a balance between data availability and safeguarding privacy, advocating for more extensive public involvement and discussion regarding this matter.
As Meta gets ready to phase out CrowdTangle, there are ongoing worries about the possible impacts on openness and responsibility in the online world, especially before major political happenings such as the US presidential election. This decision highlights wider discussions about the duties of technology firms and the necessity for regulatory involvement to protect democratic procedures in the digital era.
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