Facebook sparks row by cutting off researchers

The row marked the latest clash for Facebook, which has sought to clamp down on third parties with access to private user data while at the same seeking to enable outside researchers to study its inner workings. — AP

WASHINGTON: Facebook has cut off some academic researchers for “scraping” data from the platform, sparking a fresh controversy about the leading social network’s transparency to outside experts studying misinformation and abusive content.

The California tech giant acted late Tuesday to block the research from New York University’s Ad Observatory Project, citing privacy concerns.