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Post-Post-API Age: Studying Digital Platforms in Scant Data Access Times

Kayo Mimizuka, Megan A Brown, Kai-Cheng Yang, Josephine Lukito

TL;DR

The paper investigates how the EU Digital Services Act shapes researcher access to social media data in the post-post-API era. It employs a mixed-method approach, combining a survey of 180 researchers with 19 in-depth interviews to document experiences across platforms and regions. The study reveals pervasive barriers in applying for access, obtaining approvals, and using APIs, along with reliance on less reliable alternatives like scraping and data donations, which still leave large gaps in data quality and scale. It concludes with actionable recommendations for platforms, researchers, and policymakers to improve transparency, equity, and sustainability of data access, while calling for broader CSCW-community dialogue and ongoing regulatory refinement.

Abstract

Over the past decade, data provided by digital platforms has informed substantial research in HCI to understand online human interaction and communication. Following the closure of major social media APIs that previously provided free access to large-scale data (the "post-API age"), emerging data access programs required by the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) have sparked optimism about increased platform transparency and renewed opportunities for comprehensive research on digital platforms, leading to the "post-post-API age." However, it remains unclear whether platforms provide adequate data access in practice. To assess how platforms make data available under the DSA, we conducted a comprehensive survey followed by in-depth interviews with 19 researchers to understand their experiences with data access in this new era. Our findings reveal significant challenges in accessing social media data, with researchers facing multiple barriers including complex API application processes, difficulties obtaining credentials, and limited API usability. These challenges have exacerbated existing institutional, regional, and financial inequities in data access. Based on these insights, we provide actionable recommendations for platforms, researchers, and policymakers to foster more equitable and effective data access, while encouraging broader dialogue within the CSCW community around interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder solutions.

Post-Post-API Age: Studying Digital Platforms in Scant Data Access Times

TL;DR

The paper investigates how the EU Digital Services Act shapes researcher access to social media data in the post-post-API era. It employs a mixed-method approach, combining a survey of 180 researchers with 19 in-depth interviews to document experiences across platforms and regions. The study reveals pervasive barriers in applying for access, obtaining approvals, and using APIs, along with reliance on less reliable alternatives like scraping and data donations, which still leave large gaps in data quality and scale. It concludes with actionable recommendations for platforms, researchers, and policymakers to improve transparency, equity, and sustainability of data access, while calling for broader CSCW-community dialogue and ongoing regulatory refinement.

Abstract

Over the past decade, data provided by digital platforms has informed substantial research in HCI to understand online human interaction and communication. Following the closure of major social media APIs that previously provided free access to large-scale data (the "post-API age"), emerging data access programs required by the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) have sparked optimism about increased platform transparency and renewed opportunities for comprehensive research on digital platforms, leading to the "post-post-API age." However, it remains unclear whether platforms provide adequate data access in practice. To assess how platforms make data available under the DSA, we conducted a comprehensive survey followed by in-depth interviews with 19 researchers to understand their experiences with data access in this new era. Our findings reveal significant challenges in accessing social media data, with researchers facing multiple barriers including complex API application processes, difficulties obtaining credentials, and limited API usability. These challenges have exacerbated existing institutional, regional, and financial inequities in data access. Based on these insights, we provide actionable recommendations for platforms, researchers, and policymakers to foster more equitable and effective data access, while encouraging broader dialogue within the CSCW community around interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder solutions.
Paper Structure (33 sections, 2 figures, 3 tables)

This paper contains 33 sections, 2 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. APIs for Research
  4. Eras of Data Access
  5. Pre-API and Voluntary-API Eras
  6. The Post-API Age
  7. New Regulatory Avenues in a Post-Post API Age
  8. Methods
  9. Survey Process
  10. Interview Data Collection and Analysis
  11. Findings
  12. Survey Results
  13. The Process of Permitted Access
  14. Barriers to Applying
  15. Barriers to Access
  16. ...and 18 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Different eras of data access to social media platforms. We split the timeline into four eras: the pre-API age, the voluntary-API age, the post-API age, and the post-post-API age. We list the key events and developments in each era. Note that the time periods are approximate, and different eras and events may overlap.
  • Figure 2: A flowchart demonstrating the steps and challenges researchers face when attempting to access social media data in the post-post-API era.