Podcast Summary: "Why Independent Researchers Need Better Access to Platform Data"
The Tech Policy Press Podcast
Host: Justin Hendricks
Guests:
- Brandi Gerkink (Executive Director, Coalition for Independent Technology Research)
- Peter Chapman (Associate Director, Knight Georgetown Institute, Georgetown University)
- Elke (Elka) Zeiling (Coordinator, DSA4 Data Access Collaboratory, Weizenbaum Institute, Berlin)
Air Date: November 9, 2025
Episode Overview
This episode, recorded at MozFest in Barcelona, brings together leading voices in the field of technology research, data access, and regulation, particularly related to platform transparency in democracies. The conversation revolves around the new Knight Georgetown Institute’s "Better Access Data for the Common Good" report, the challenges independent researchers face regarding data access, and the evolving European regulatory landscape—particularly the Digital Services Act (DSA). The discussion highlights why independent access to platform data matters, what legal and technical barriers exist, and the broader societal consequences if these obstacles remain.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Why Platform Data Access Matters
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Democracy, Accountability & Power Dynamics:
- Platforms shape public discourse; without independent research, only industry-approved narratives are studied [(03:45–07:00)].
- "Platforms are going to do everything in their power to resist giving researchers access to data. They have no incentive to make this happen." — Brandi Gerkink (28:48)
- Analogy: Lack of data access is compared to communities unable to test polluted river water, highlighting the need for regulatory change [(15:07)].
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Democratization of Knowledge:
- "It's about democratizing power and access to information and the ability to ask questions that result in better experiences for the everyday person who's using the Internet." — Brandi Gerkink (06:35)
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Research as Counterweight:
- Researchers should act as a check on platform power, similar to watchdogs in tobacco or fossil fuel industries [(04:30–07:00)].
2. The "Better Access Data for the Common Good" Report
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Purpose & Scope:
- Developed over a year by 20+ experts to create “a roadmap for expanding access to high influence public platform data” [(02:37, 08:44)].
- Focuses on "high influence public platform data"—e.g., widely shared content, public figures, political actors, and promoted posts [(08:44–12:00)].
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Challenges Identified:
- Platforms are restricting access to previously available tools (Meta closing CrowdTangle, API restrictions on X/Twitter and Reddit).
- Balancing privacy, ethics, and meaningful research access is complex.
- Global equity is necessary: frameworks must work as well in Congo as California [(12:45)].
3. Current Barriers & Legal Landscape
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The DSA (Digital Services Act):
- First law to grant researchers a right to access data from private platforms, not just governments [(07:20)].
- Two Data Access Types:
- Article 40(12): “Publicly accessible” data—definition ambiguous, letting platforms set limits. Researchers usually get aggregate stats but face opaque boundaries [(19:20)].
- Article 44: “Non-public” data—broader access, including internal platform data, now possible but subject to regulatory approvals and conservative implementation [(20:32)].
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Delays & Caution in Implementation:
- Regulators are slow to act, expecting careful first cases by late next year to avoid major blunders [(21:38)].
4. Key Obstacles and Risks
- Corporate Capture:
- Platforms resist data sharing, and can influence regulatory processes or challenge requests in court.
- Fragmented Research Infrastructure:
- Access is inconsistent; historic models like Twitter’s API or Social Science One privileged a small set of Western (often US-based) researchers [(23:05)].
- Cultural Shift Needed:
- Researchers must move from treating data access as a privilege to seeing it as a right, and embrace their roles as political actors and collaborators [(28:48, 31:59)].
5. Looking Forward: Opportunities & Threats
- No "One Size Fits All":
- DSA is not globally replicable, but offers lessons for other regions, like the UK and the US’s proposed Platform Accountability Transparency Act (PATA) [(25:12)].
- Three-Tiered Access Model:
- Platforms should:
- Proactively provide data (via interfaces or third parties)
- Respond to custom data requests
- Allow/reduce restrictions on independent collection (scraping, crawling) [(25:12)].
- Platforms should:
- Threats: Continued platform resistance, slow regulatory uptake, legal challenges, and the risk researchers remain dependent on the goodwill of corporations [(28:48, 34:38)].
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the Importance of Data Access:
- "If we don't have data access, the only questions that can be asked are those that can be asked by the technology industry, and they're going to ask the questions that matter to them."
— Brandi Gerkink (05:53)
- "If we don't have data access, the only questions that can be asked are those that can be asked by the technology industry, and they're going to ask the questions that matter to them."
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On the Stakes:
- "Platforms shape what we know, how we connect, what we hear, what we amplify, and across a range of themes. They're fundamental infrastructure for modern civic life."
— Peter Chapman (03:58)
- "Platforms shape what we know, how we connect, what we hear, what we amplify, and across a range of themes. They're fundamental infrastructure for modern civic life."
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On Regulatory Novelty:
- "It's like the first time we actually have a right to get access not just to governments and public services, but to actually have access to privately run companies.”
— Elke Zeiling (07:28)
- "It's like the first time we actually have a right to get access not just to governments and public services, but to actually have access to privately run companies.”
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On Cultural Change for Researchers:
- "We actually have a right to access this information that is required to play this critical role that researchers play vis a vis the public. And for us to shift from this situation of data as a privilege to data as a fundamental necessity for us to do our jobs in service of the public interest is going to be a culture shift."
— Brandi Gerkink (29:56)
- "We actually have a right to access this information that is required to play this critical role that researchers play vis a vis the public. And for us to shift from this situation of data as a privilege to data as a fundamental necessity for us to do our jobs in service of the public interest is going to be a culture shift."
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On the Future:
- “If everything goes well, I think this is really like an amazing way to kind of open up and kind of understand these what we often call black boxes and to kind of do better regulation on it. If it does not work...the genie [data access rights] is out of the bottle.”
— Elke Zeiling (35:41)
- “If everything goes well, I think this is really like an amazing way to kind of open up and kind of understand these what we often call black boxes and to kind of do better regulation on it. If it does not work...the genie [data access rights] is out of the bottle.”
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On the Big Picture:
- "The only questions that we can ask right now are largely being asked by companies...they're thinking very small because they're thinking about money. When you bring more people into the fold that are not just obsessed with money, you can build great things.”
— Brandi Gerkink (39:33)
- "The only questions that we can ask right now are largely being asked by companies...they're thinking very small because they're thinking about money. When you bring more people into the fold that are not just obsessed with money, you can build great things.”
Important Timestamps
- 02:37 — Scene setting at MozFest and introduction of guests
- 03:45 — Why data access matters (roundtable)
- 08:44 — Launch of KGI’s report; defining “high influence public platform data”
- 12:45 — Ethical, global, and privacy challenges in establishing a data framework
- 15:07 — Brandi’s river/factory analogy for the data access crisis
- 19:20 — Elke explains the DSA’s dual-path data access approach
- 23:05 — How we got to the current regulatory moment; European and global context
- 25:12 — Peter on different models of data access and UK/US regulatory horizons
- 28:48 — Brandi on threats and necessary cultural shift
- 31:59 — Elke: why researchers must act politically, not just as outside observers
- 34:38 — Researchers need to define the baseline for meaningful data access
- 35:41 — Roundtable: visions for 5–20 years, risks, and hopes for future tech transparency
Resources & Further Reading
- Knight Georgetown Institute’s Better Access Report: kgi.georgetown.edu
- Coalition for Independent Technology Research: independenttechresearch.org
- DSA4 Data Access Collaboratory: dsa40collaboratory.eu
Tone & Takeaways
The conversation is urgent yet optimistic, blending technical challenge with a civic mission. All guests stress that equitable, robust platform data access is a linchpin for tech accountability and the health of democracy. Achieving this will require not just new laws and regulatory muscle, but also an internal culture shift among researchers, policymakers, and platforms themselves.
Memorable Closing
"Now that [research data access] is on the table, you won't get the genie back into the bottle."
— Elke Zeiling (37:17)
For more in-depth discussion on the intersection of tech and democracy, visit techpolicy.press.