Platform Access Bill Bows to Raise Social Media Transparency

Legislation introduced Thursday would require social media companies to “provide vetted, independent researchers and the public with access to certain platform data.” Introduced by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Chris Coons, D-Del., the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act is intended to increase transparency into companies’ internal data, which was a focus of the recent Facebook whistleblower testimony. Independent researchers would submit proposals to the National Science Foundation, and if approved, the companies would have to provide the “necessary data subject to certain privacy protections.”