Twelve representatives from academia, civil society, and several technology companies have begun work to explore creation of a Code of Conduct on access to platform data under Article 40 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Such a code could clarify how platforms may provide access to data to independent researchers in a GDPR-compliant manner.
In the months ahead, the members of the Working Group plan to (a) identify the legal basis and key questions regarding how to provide privacy-compliant access to data from a GDPR-perspective and (b) understand what clarity and guidance on the reach of the GDPR is required to address these questions. This shared understanding of what the GDPR requires for both researchers and platforms is crucial to facilitating the creation of a Code of Conduct under Article 40 of the GDPR, which can establish a set of rules that contribute to the proper application of the law.
The Working Group is chaired by Dr. Rebekah Tromble, Member of the EDMO Advisory Board and Director of the Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics (IDDP) at George Washington University. The data rights agency AWO is providing logistical support and legal advice on the basis of GDPR to the Working Group.
The Working Group was established following an open call for public comments, and its composition and agenda are guided in large part by the feedback and suggestions received in that call.
The members of the Working Group are:
- Marta Cantero Gamito, University of Tartu
- Kate Dommett, University of Sheffield
- Charles Ess, University of Oslo
- Andrew Gruen, Facebook
- Estelle Masse, Access Now
- Solomon Messing, Twitter
- Rebekah Tromble (chair), George Washington University, EDMO
- Cristian Vaccari, Loughborough University
- Claes de Vreese, University of Amsterdamm, EDMO
- Katrin Weller, GESIS
- Clement Wolf, Google
- Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna, Future of Privacy Forum