{"id":262543,"date":"2021-08-04T06:20:10","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T06:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationaus.com\/?p=20780"},"modified":"2021-08-04T06:20:10","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T06:20:10","slug":"facebook-blocks-researchers-from-scrutinising-its-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/08\/04\/facebook-blocks-researchers-from-scrutinising-its-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook blocks researchers from scrutinising its data"},"content":{"rendered":"
Facebook has suspended<\/strong> the accounts of US researchers who had been scrutinising the tech giant\u2019s role in misinformation, digital advertising and election campaigns with a tool that catalogued the social media giant’s targeted ads.<\/p>\n The company said its users\u2019 privacy was at risk from the researchers\u2019 work, despite it not collecting personal information.<\/p>\n Researchers from the New York University\u2019s Centre for Cybersecurity have been studying how Facebook\u2019s online advertising and targeting works, including developing and promoting an extension which copies the advertisements users see on Facebook and YouTube and adds them to a database.<\/p>\n The extension, known as Ad Observatory, and associated work, is an attempt to improve the transparency of tech giant\u2019s advertising tactics, which are under increased scrutiny amid misinformation on the platforms.<\/p>\n