Facebook shuts down research on Instagram algorithm: report | Technology News

New Delhi: According to media reports, a group of AlgorithmWatch researchers stated that they were forced to abandon their research project to monitor the Instagram algorithm after being threatened by Facebook.

According to The Verge, the Berlin-based project disclosed the conflict in a post published this week on the grounds that the platform recently banned the New York University Advertising Observatory.

“There may be more cases of bullying that we don’t know about,” the post read.

“We hope that by coming forward, more organizations will talk about their experiences,” it added.

AlgorithmWatch was launched in March 2020 and provides a browser plug-in that allows users to collect data from their Instagram feeds to gain insight into how the platform prioritizes pictures and videos.

The project regularly publishes research results indicating that the algorithm encourages the display of photos of bare skin, and that photos showing faces are ranked higher than text screenshots.

Facebook disputed the method, but did not take action against AlgorithmWatch in the first year of the project.

In May of this year, researchers said that Facebook asked to meet with project leaders and accused them of violating the platform’s terms of service. Another objection is that the project violated the GDPR because it collected data from users who did not agree to participate.

The researcher said in his defense: “We only collected data related to the content Facebook showed to volunteers who installed the plug-in.”

According to the report, the researchers finally chose to close the project, believing that if they continue, they will face legal proceedings from the company.

The report mentioned that a Facebook representative confirmed the meeting, but denied threats to sue the project, saying that the company is willing to find ways to protect privacy to continue research.

“We are concerned about their practices, which is why we contacted them many times so that they can abide by our terms and continue their research, as we usually do with other research groups when we find similar problems,” The representative quoted the Dao Technology website. Please also read: Xiaomi launches Xiaomi 100W wireless charging stand, which can fully charge your phone in 28 minutes

“We intend to continue to work with independent researchers, but we will not put people’s data or privacy at risk,” it added. Please also read: National Pension Plan: Invest 50 rupees per day and get 3.4 million rupees after retirement!That’s it