There were some really great questions at my #ICWSM2020 paper Q&A today! Short thread with some FAQs about the law and ethics of scraping data for research, based on that discussion. (Blog post + paper at link) medium.com/@cfiesler/spid…
Q: What about copyright?
A: For the most part, fair use likely protects data collection for the purpose of research. This just means that it's not something additional you need to worry about on topic of TOS violations or ethical considerations. [1/2]
A: For the most part, fair use likely protects data collection for the purpose of research. This just means that it's not something additional you need to worry about on topic of TOS violations or ethical considerations. [1/2]
So I tend to think that copyright isn't that interesting/relevant here. Though remember that it's not the PLATFORM whose copyright that would matter--it's the content creator. Instagram does not own those photos; the individual users do.
Q: What about SHARING data as opposed to collecting it?
A: Super tough ethical questions here, in part because of tensions between research ethics and open science. (I have a lot of thoughts on this, I should blog.) Consider just as you would for collecting data. [1/2]
A: Super tough ethical questions here, in part because of tensions between research ethics and open science. (I have a lot of thoughts on this, I should blog.) Consider just as you would for collecting data. [1/2]
Specific circumstances vary but I'm often in the "share by request to researchers" camp as opposed to "make everything 100% public." I also wrote a bit about unintended consequences of data curation/sharing in this design fiction. cmci.colorado.edu/~cafi5706/grou…
Q: What if ethical considerations means we just don't do the research but someone else who doesn't care as much does?
A: In many cases I think you can find a way to do research ethically. Thinking through ethical considerations is about finding ways to mitigate harm-- [1/2]
A: In many cases I think you can find a way to do research ethically. Thinking through ethical considerations is about finding ways to mitigate harm-- [1/2]
for example, obfuscating data, being careful about sharing, asking for permission from gatekeepers. However, there are times when the benefits of the research just don't outweigh the risks. And you do not want to be on the wrong side of that. [2/2]
Q: Should we write about this in our papers?
A: YES YES YES. Ethical consideration in data collection should be part of the methods section. Explain why you did what you did. This is how we form community norms and best practices. (I do this when I use public data!)
A: YES YES YES. Ethical consideration in data collection should be part of the methods section. Explain why you did what you did. This is how we form community norms and best practices. (I do this when I use public data!)
Q: Am I going to get in legal trouble for scraping?
A: The answer to this is 'it's complicated.' Unfortunately this isn't really a settled issue. I go into a lot of detail in the paper about the current legal landscape, so I'm going to refer you to that! (Though IANYL ;) )
A: The answer to this is 'it's complicated.' Unfortunately this isn't really a settled issue. I go into a lot of detail in the paper about the current legal landscape, so I'm going to refer you to that! (Though IANYL ;) )
Please ask more questions if you have them! And if you would like to hear me talk about this for ten minutes, here is a 10-minute Zoom presentation.
