Give Us Back Our Data!

Frosty

March 13th, 2025

In a world of misinformation spread on social media, science is meant to be one of the sole safe haven’s of accurate research and information. What happens when the scientific research in question is controlled by the very companies we blame for the misinformation we consume? Can we still trust in the research we see or is it just as bad as a sponsored TikTok in its misdirection and bias? Sadowski et. al’s article on how our data is used and distributed by tech companies brings to light just how concerning it is to have private companies owning and controlling our data. 

Data refers to all information collected and stored online that is about us. From our physical attributes and health status, to our behavioural patterns of where we go and when, to our favourite movies and snacks, tech companies consistently log information about us and store it privately. This collection of data comes in handy when researchers are in need of mass amounts of data, but what exactly are they allowed to do with it?

First of all, while this data does exist online, it is not accessible to every researcher for every study. Given the private tech companies’ full control of the data, they have a select choice on who they deem worthy of viewing it. Many researchers never gain access to this data, bringing into question why it is fairly stored by these large companies. The primary use of this data by companies is to further understand customer behaviour and leverage said behaviour to increase the success and revenue of their given work. A company such as Uber does not keep our data to best understand effective routes in getting people to their destination faster, they collect our data to determine the peak hours to hike up their ride prices. Why is it that a company can collect data for the use of capital gain, but not for the use of academic research designed to better understand our changing world? 

In addition to the initial gatekeeping of information, large companies can influence what gets studied. While gaining access to the data a company collects for research is the first battle, these “privileges” can be restricted or revoked the moment the research does not benefit the company or puts them in a negative light. One of the most notable examples of intentional data restriction exists within one of the largest data collecting companies: Facebook. Facebook significantly restricted access to its data after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which while fair, limited research resources significantly for academic research. Their decision to limit data access did not lead to the protection of privacy it might have appeared to. Their limitation of data revoked researchers’ right to monitor misinformation, hate speech, and political manipulation, so that Facebook became the sole monitor of data on the platform. 

The limitation of data available to researchers in the interest of private companies is unethical and in many ways, very scary. Their use of gatekeeping and restrictions on what can be researched and to what capacity using the data they have collected (often without the informed consent of users), creates a culture of conducting research that exclusively benefits the companies that exploit and misinform masses. They have created a divide of “Big Data Rich” and “Big Data Poor” researchers who either work alongside the company with unrestricted access, or work independently and struggle to access meaningful data. If academic research is tainted by the interests of large companies without regard for all research, why do the big tech companies have permanent access to our data in the first place? GIVE US BACK OUR DATA!