.Facebook opens up data to researchers

Facebook on Monday announced that it is opening up troves of its data to researchers studying the role of social media in elections, an unprecedented move by a generally secretive company.

The announcement comes a little over a year after Facebook first announced that it would be partnering with outside social science research centers to look into the effects of social media on democracies and elections.

The company in a blog post on Monday announced that its research institute partners, Social Science One and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), had officially chosen a group of more than 60 researchers who will “gain access to privacy-protected Facebook data.”

The research projects emerge as Facebook faces more scrutiny than ever over the manipulation and misuse of its platform during election cycles. The tech giant has been accused of not doing enough as foreign and domestic actors spread misinformation across its suite of services, including Instagram, during important world events.