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In the framework of an ongoing consultation process on the Delegated Regulation on data access provided for in the Digital Services Act, the Forum and around 50 civil society organizations and researchers provided their contribution to the draft act that stipulates the implementation of Article 40.4 providing vetted researchers with data access. They call upon the European Commission to ensure that the public interest is at the heart of data access provisions.
The European Digital Services Act is currently the only legislation worldwide requiring very large online platforms and very large online search engines to provide access to their data to vetted researchers to conduct research which contributes to the detection, identification and understanding of systemic risks in the European Union. The interpretation and application of its Article 40.4 will thus set a worldwide signal and impact the power balance between big tech and the public’s interest. It will define to what extent researchers will be able to study the systemic risks these platforms pose.
The European Commission published a draft delegated regulation on data access which further defines the technical conditions and procedures to share data with researchers on 29 October 2024.
In the framework of the current feedback period, we the undersigned civil society organizations and researchers call upon the Commission to ensure that the delegated regulation
- recognises that it is setting a global example for researcher access.
- provides for access to data for non-EU vetted researchers and to non-EU data to counter current data access and research gaps and inequalities. Notably, platforms have been reducing researchers’ access to data, such as the recent closure of Crowdtangle. The DSA provisions are a unique opportunity to counter this trend and increase global equity. This is vital to properly understand and study the systemic risks in the Union which can be impacted by trends in other regions and countries.
- ensure that when determining the data access modalities confidential information and trade secrets do not prevail over the public interest. Therefore, to ensure a common interpretation of trade secrets by the Digital Services Coordinators, the delegated act should provide a clear definition of when trade secrets can be evoked to justify an exemption from disclosure of data.
- ensure that the interests of the principal researcher are taken into account in the entire access request procedure notably in guaranteeing that the principal researcher has the opportunity to submit an amendment request to account for the evolving nature of research projects and can provide their position on any amendment request of the data provider and during the mediation process to settle disputes between the DSC and the data provider.
- ensure a clear and unique interpretation of what it means that a researcher is independent from commercial interests to facilitate access and ensure an easy, accessible and fast vetting process for researchers.
- provide for transparency and accountability of reasoned requests by publishing successful and rejected requests in the Data Access Portal.
- provides for access to conduct controlled experiments, including but not limited to A/B testing, ensuring that not only private companies can study the effects of changes to algorithms and user interfaces on democracy and human rights, but that also public interest researchers can conduct these urgently needed evaluations.
Signatories:
- Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)
- Christopher A. Bail, Professor of Sociology and Computer Science, Duke University
- Dr. Jens Barland, Associate Professor, Kristiania University College, Norway
- Habmo Birwe, Research Consultant, World Bank Africa
- Prof. Kalina Bontcheva, University of Sheffield, UK
- Sally Broughton Micova, Associate Professor of Communications Policy and Politics, University of East Anglia
- Prof Marta Cantero Gamito, University of Tartu and Florence School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute
- Center for Countering Digital
Hate - Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy
- Dr. Yik Chan Chin, Associate Professor, Beijing Normal University, China
- Cyber Peace Institute
- Defend Democracy
- Digital Grassroots
- DSA 40 Collaboratory
- Dr. Laurence Dierickx, University of Bergen/NORDIS, Université Libre de Bruxelles
- Dr. Flavia Durach, Associate Professor, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest
- Dr. Ali Faqeeh, Aalto University
- Forum on Information and Democracy
- Dr. Shenja van der Graaf, Center for Digital Inclusion, University of Twente
- GFMD
- Rahaf Harfoush, Digital Anthropologist and Author, Member of France’s National Digital Council, Visiting Policy Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
- Prof. Dr. Natali Helberger, University of Amsterdam
- Prof Dr Jeanette Hofmann, WZB, Germany
- Dr. Minna Horowitz, University of Helsinki
- IT for Change
- Poncelet Ileleji, Jokkolabs Banjul
- Dr Irini Katsirea, University of Sheffield
- Alistair Knott, Co-Lead of the Global Partnership on AI’s Social Media Governance project
- Prof. Dr. Arne H. Krumsvik, Kristiania University College, Norway
- Dr. Anselm Küsters, LL.M., Centre for European Policy (cep) and Humboldt University of Berlin
- Galen Lamphere-Englund, Extremism and Gaming Research Network
- Prof Sonia Livingstone, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Robin Mansell, Professor Emerita, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Charlie Martial Ngounou, AfroLeadership
- Dr. Siddhartha Menon, Outlier AI / Scale AI
- Netlab UFRJ, Brazil
- Research ICT Africa
- Dr Vincent Obia, University of Sheffield
- Prof. Pier Luigi Parcu, Director, Centre for a Digital Society, Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, European University Institute
- Dino Pedreschi, Professor of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Italian Delegate in GPAI – Global Partnership on AI – Responsible AI Working Group
- Prof Jo Pierson, School of Social Sciences, Hasselt University & Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Samir Kassir Foundation
- Dr. R. Marie Santini, Associate Professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Prof. Sonja Solomun, McGill University
- TEDIC, Paraguay
- Prof Patti M. Valkenburg, Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam
- Umut Pajaro Velasquez, AI and Digital Cooperation Researcher and Consultant, Independent
- Youth Coalition on Internet Governance
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