As digital phenomena such as hate speech, online bullying, and foreign information manipulation and interference become more sophisticated, timely access to social media data has become essential for researchers working to understand and mitigate these risks. However, across Europe, researchers increasingly face legal, technical, and financial barriers that hinder meaningful access to online platforms.
The white paper Access to Data for Researchers: A Look Over the Horizon, produced under the VIGILANT project, examines these challenges in depth and offers policy recommendations to support independent, high-quality research across the EU.
The Growing Challenge of Access
Many EU-funded research projects, particularly those addressing digital threats under the Civil Security for Society programme, require timely and meaningful access to social media datasets. These datasets are critical for developing tools to detect information manipulation and hate speech, identify early signs of radicalisation and extremism, and audit content moderation algorithms.
Yet researchers now face five major obstacles:
- API restrictions by Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), which provide only limited or expensive API access for research, restricting the scale and depth of data collection.
- Closed environments, which prevent access to authentic user interactions, especially in encrypted or private groups.
- Data-sharing constraints, particularly under strict interpretations of privacy rules, which often fragment collaboration between institutions.
- An opaque application process for requesting data, which is neither transparent nor fit for purpose under European standards of fairness and accountability. Application rejections are typically vague, with no formal mechanism for appeal. At the same time, terms of cooperation frequently include complex legal language, which often discourages researchers from engaging with platforms.
- Inconsistent practices across platforms, with varying data access policies making it difficult to conduct cross-platform or comparative studies.
Researchers have developed ad-hoc strategies to reduce the impact of restricted data access. These include anonymised or synthetic datasets used to comply with regulations but which often fail to capture the complexity of real-world interactions, and paid access to platform APIs, which has, however, proven financially unsustainable. While helpful in the short term, these solutions do not provide the robust data access required for long-term, policy-relevant research.
To support impactful and ethical research in the public interest, the white paper proposes several concrete measures:
- Fast-track data access for EU projects, using mechanisms established under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
- Access to publicly available data through generous, research-friendly API quotas, without excessive restrictions or “clean room” requirements.
- Subsidised access through a dedicated Data Access Fund to cover access fees imposed by platforms.
- Secure and standardised data-sharing frameworks, enabling collaboration across academic institutions, public agencies, and the private sector.
- Legal clarity for algorithmic testing, allowing researchers to use test accounts and bots to audit recommendation systems without fear of legal repercussions.
A Critical Opportunity for Policy Change
This is a pivotal moment for digital research in Europe. While vast amounts of data are generated daily, access to that data remains unnecessarily restricted. Proactive EU action is urgently needed to align platform policies with public research priorities.
By providing structured, fair, and secure access to online data, the EU can empower researchers to deliver the evidence needed to build a safer, more resilient digital environment for all.
You can read the full white paper here.