New status report on researcher data access

In connection with the EU-US Trade and Technology Council meeting on 5th April, a collaborative report on the research access mechanisms of online platforms was published. 

The report summarises some of the mechanisms available to researchers in Europe and/or the US to access data or public repositories of ads, also following measures taken by very large online platforms (VLOPs) and search engines (VLOSEs) to comply with the DSA.  

The report outlines the various methods of access to public data, the types of data available, rate limits, conditions for access, and the terms of access. For the ad repositories, the report looks at methods, conditions and available data. 

In addition to commentary on the similarities and differences between data mechanisms of a range of platforms, the report includes an appendix listing each mechanism identified by the researchers based on public information. 

The report constitutes one of the deliverables of the TTC Working Group 5 and builds on the work conducted by The George Washington University Institute for Data Democracy & Politics, and Dr. Mathias Vermeulen (AWO) in his capacity of independent expert supporting the European Commission’s work on data access for researchers. You can read it here. 

For more information about DSA data access for researchers, see our FAQs.