German social-media researcher AlgorithmWatch said it was forced to abandon a project monitoring Instagram’s newsfeed algorithm after the Big Tech platform’s parent, Facebook, threatened to take punitive action.
“Ultimately, an organization the size of AlgorithmWatch cannot risk going to court against a company valued at $1 trillion,” the German not-for-profit group said on Friday. The project was halted last month, and AlgorithmWatch said it chose to speak out now – highlighting the need for lawmakers to protect future research of online platforms – after Facebook shut down the accounts of researchers at New York University’s Ad Observatory.
SOURCE: https://www.rt.com/usa/532072-facebook-shuts-down-instagram-research/