Facebook is demanding researchers at New York University (NYU) stop collecting data showing which users are micro-targeted by political ads, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In an Oct. 16 letter, a Facebook executive said the NYU researchers must disable and delete data collected from a special plug-in for Chrome and Firefox browsers that they have distributed to some 6,500 volunteers across the nation. The plug-in, named “Ad Observer,” enables researchers to see which political ads are shown to each volunteer on Facebook, which is known for allowing advertisers to target political ads beyond broad demographics such as race, age, and zip code.
