Court Rules in Favor of Academic Freedom
A Berlin court has delivered a significant victory for academic freedom by siding with two German non-profits in their lawsuit against Elon Musk’s platform, X. The organizations, Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), sued X for failing to provide them with data necessary to examine the platform’s influence on the forthcoming elections, arguing that the social media giant breached EU regulations.
A Fast-Tracked Legal Decision
The lawsuit, filed on February 4, highlighted that X was violating the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates platforms to give researchers access to public data promptly. Remarkably, the Berlin Regional Court made its ruling within just 72 hours, ordering X to grant both organizations “unrestricted access to all publicly available data” throughout the election period.
Research Project Encompasses Electoral Discourse
This crucial data will form part of a larger, three-year research initiative investigating online political discourse in relation to key elections, including last year’s European Parliament elections. Simone Ruf, lawyer and deputy director of GFF’s Center for User Rights, hailed the court’s decision as a landmark moment for both academic freedom and democracy, emphasizing its role in preventing election manipulation.
First of Its Kind Lawsuit in Germany
DRI representatives noted this lawsuit stands as the first of its kind in Germany and the EU regarding the right to access data under the DSA. Meanwhile, the EU continues to probe X for possible violations of the same law. The DSA obligates large platforms to make data available to non-profits and research bodies engaged in studying “systemic risks” on social media.
Concerns Over Access Costs for Researchers
While some platforms have facilitated access to necessary data for DRI and GFF’s research, X has not followed suit. The social media giant offers limited free access to its Application Programming Interface (API), but researchers face costly monthly fees of up to $5,000 for expanded access. DRI has criticized these costs as “prohibitively expensive,” arguing that the limited volume of data available under the “Pro Access” tier is insufficient for effective analysis of potential systemic risks on the platform. The European Commission’s initial findings echoed this concern, suggesting that X’s pricing structure discourages meaningful research efforts.
SOURCE: Ref Image from Yahoo News UK
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