Facebook isn't happy with New York University.
It's because of NYU Ad Observatory,Aunty Boy (2025) Hindi Short Film a newly launched research project from the university's engineering school that aims to show how different election campaigns are spending their ad money on the site, and what kinds of voters they're targeting. The research is gathered with help from a data-collecting browser extension.
Facebook let NYU know that the project, which is being driven by the work of more than 6,500 volunteers, runs afoul of the social network's terms of service provision barring bulk data collection. Word of the Oct. 16 letter comes via a Wall Street Journalreport that ran late Friday.
"Scraping tools, no matter how well-intentioned, are not a permissible means of collecting information from us," Facebook's letter read. It goes on to threaten "additional enforcement action" if the project isn't shut down, and if data that was already gathered isn't deleted.
It's not clear what kind of enforcement actions are on the table, but a Facebook spokesperson told the WSJthat code could be changed to block the NYU browser extension. Though it's also worth noting that, after the report published, Facebook clarified that it wouldn't pursue any action until, in the newspaper's words, "well after the election."
Facebook may have been swayed in part by the political response to the WSJreport. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said in a statement that the social network's stance of "making it harder for Americans to get information about political ads" in the middle of an election is "unacceptable."
Facebook is notably on the hook for an upcoming Senate hearing in which tech executives will be grilled on misinformation, moderation, and bias in online spaces. There are also rumblings of a possible antitrust case brought by the government against Facebook.
The project, which hasn't been taken down as of Oct. 24, offers a wealth of illuminating information on how campaigns are spending dollars to push ads across Facebook. The main page features top-level stats, such as the detail that almost 30 percent of Donald Trump's Facebook ad spend attacks the media.
SEE ALSO: Facebook's 'monopoly power' hurts user privacy, finds CongressThings get even more interesting when you drill down into the different categories, though. You're able to view what ad spending looks like at the national and state levels, but even better: You can zero in on individual Senate, House, and governor's races.
Not only do you see how much money each campaign is spending; you also get a breakdown of topics the ads for each candidate cover, the dollar amount going into each one, and the specifics of how ads are targeted toward each candidate's hoped-for voters. It's not necessarily comprehensive information, since it depends on how much data volunteers are able to gather. But it's more transparency than Facebook has provided on the political ad spending hosted by the platform.
That may well change after the election. The NYU team has indicated that more transparency from Facebook would be the best way to halt the Ad Observatory project. And in its October letter to the university, Facebook said that it's already set up an academic partnership that will study how the site impacted voters during the 2020 election.
Topics Facebook Social Media Politics
Previous:Walking Away from Omelas
Next:Back to Work
Guide to HEVC/H.265 Encoding and PlaybackCleveland pitcher's mangled finger proves you shouldn't mess with dronesYou no longer have to order cheesesteaks in EnglishFlorida fans leave Amy Schumer show after election talk gets too realIt's illegal to intimidate voters, in case you were wonderingRyan Lochte confuses Canadian Thanksgiving with a Jewish holidayCreepy clown craze prompts Target to pull Halloween costumes from shelvesHillary Clinton's email headache just turned back into a migraineMartin Shkreli ignites drama with an impromptu happy hour in BrooklynApple doesn't need to build a car to get what it really wantsChronos turns your old watch into a smartwatchCan't wait for the new 'Black Mirror'? Read this.Apple doesn't need to build a car to get what it really wantsShepard Smith discusses his sexuality while defending Roger AilesGolden Tate celebrated his first touchdown of 2016 by dancing with the Lions cheerleadersAn NHS patient is liveRockstar drives 'Red Dead Redemption' fans wild with new imageSomeone is selling Justin Bieber's used milk glass on eBayGreenland calls on Denmark to clean up toxic waste buried in melting ice sheetCleveland pitcher's mangled finger proves you shouldn't mess with drones Uber and Waymo start the countdown for Austin launch next month Chrome got you down? Try this mindfulness ICE is allegedly manipulating Google search results for 'mass deportations' Best robot vacuum deal: Save $400 on the roborock Q5 Pro+ Real Hope vs. Cruz Azul 2025 livestream: Watch Concacaf Champions Cup for free Robot pets are purring their way into the hearts of America's seniors Google scraps diverse hiring targets following Trump's crusade against DEI Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder 2025 livestream: Watch NBA online Google had to change its Super Bowl commercial because AI got something wrong NYT Connections hints and answers for February 5: Tips to solve 'Connections' #605. NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for February 5: Tips to solve Connections #135 Shop Casetify's Valentine's Day Sale and get 20% your purchase of two or more items Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers 2025 livestream: Watch NBA online Best Samsung smartphone deal: Galaxy S24 FE for $499.99 (save $150) Trump wants a TikTok deal, but China still might let it die NYT mini crossword answers for February 6, 2025 Best home security deal: Save $242.33 on a 4 Revival rug sale: Buy 2, get 20% off Best free ChatGPT courses Spacecraft finds a positively enormous planet 12 times Jupiter's mass
2.1996s , 10128.9453125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Aunty Boy (2025) Hindi Short Film】,Pursuit Information Network