ISD cited in a letter sent by a bipartisan group of US Senators and Congressmen calling on Meta to allow researchers continued access to CrowdTangle

25/07/2024

On July 24, 2024, a bipartisan group of US Senators and Congressmen sent a letter to Meta executives urging the social media giant to delay the closure of its transparency tool, CrowdTangle, until after Inauguration Day. CrowdTangle enables researchers to analyze data from Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta products.

“This letter adds to the growing chorus of researchers, civil society organizations, and lawmakers raising the alarm about how the closure of CrowdTangle will affect the public’s ability to identify and evidence harms online. As we head towards a contentious US election it has never been more important for journalists and researchers to have access to tools allowing us to investigate how social media platforms affect our national security, mental health, elections, and so much more,” said Ellen Jacobs, ISD’s Digital Policy Manager.

“We are grateful to Senators Coons and Cassidy, as well as the other 15 Congressmembers who signed on, for their leadership and continued efforts to push for platform transparency and ensure that those conducting public interest research have access to the data and tools necessary.”

The letter was co-authored by Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) along with Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), and Neal Dunn (R-Fla.)

The letter reads:

“In light of threats to our national security, growing concern about the effect of social media on our children and their mental health, the advent and proliferation of generative artificial intelligence, and important elections coming up in the United States and elsewhere in the world, Meta (like other platforms) has a responsibility to ensure that the public, independent researchers, journalists, and policymakers can study and address the impact that platforms and their algorithms are having in these and other dimensions, in both positive and negative ways.”

Meta initially announced they would cease access to CrowdTangle and replace it with the Meta Content Library after August 14, 2024. Following the announcement, ISD and the Center for American Progress sent a letter to Meta executives on behalf of 51 organizations and researchers asking them to delay the shutdown of CrowdTangle beyond Inauguration Day.

ISD’s initial response to Meta, along with three of our reports conducted using CrowdTangle, are cited throughout the politicians’ appeal.

The full text of the letter is available here.

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