Events

Data donation systems for platform research

Speaker: Kiran Garimella

Location: To Be Arranged

Date: Friday, March 31, 2023

Data donation systems are emerging as a new way to facilitate research on social media platforms, where access to user data can be restricted due to privacy concerns. These systems allow users to voluntarily donate their data for research purposes, providing researchers with valuable insights into user behavior and platform dynamics. In this talk, I will discuss the potential benefits and challenges of data donation systems for platform research. I will explore the different models of data donation systems, including opt-in and opt-out approaches, and examine the ethical considerations involved in such systems. I will also discuss the technical challenges of implementing data donation systems, including data quality control, data security, and data anonymization. Finally, I will highlight some of the recent research studies that have been conducted using data donation systems and the potential impact of such studies on our understanding of social media platforms. Overall, data donation systems have the potential to provide researchers with unprecedented access to user data, while also protecting user privacy and autonomy. However, the design and implementation of such systems must be carefully considered to ensure that they are transparent, ethical, and technically feasible.