Comment by amazingamazing
4 days ago
Could someone explain this to me - couldn't they just subscribe to Pro and use the API? What do they want that couldn't be achieved with that?
https://docs.x.com/x-api/getting-started/about-x-api
Is the problem that they don't want to pay?
> couldn't they just subscribe to Pro and use the API?
Since X serves German users, X needs to follow German law. Since German law says researchers need to be able to access data, the researchers tried to get the data. X says no (breaking the laws), so now they continue with the correct pipeline for getting the data anyways.
If this all sounds new and foreign to you, checkout the Digital Services Act (DSA) which seems to be the directive they're using for requesting the data.
Subscribing to Pro and using the API would be like admitting X didn't actually break laws here, so not surprising they try to go the right way about this. Not only for themselves, but would make it easier for others in the future when they win.
The law says that they're entitled the data for free? I honestly don't know, and the question is in good faith.
Just one snippet from the relevant regulation:
> This Regulation therefore provides a framework for compelling access to data from very large online platforms and very large online search engines to vetted researchers affiliated to a research organisation within the meaning of Article 2 of Directive (EU) 2019/790, which may include, for the purpose of this Regulation, civil society organisations that are conducting scientific research with the primary goal of supporting their public interest mission.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...
There is a bunch of more mentions of "research" too if you have the free-time to go through it.
But in short; Yes, VLOPs (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/dsa-vlops) need to provide data to researchers, for free.