[jonathanmayer]

> This is a luxury many researchers that work outside of these big tech companies don't have, which creates a scientific power imbalance.

The power imbalance goes far beyond science. Independent research is foundational for platform accountability. An example: when I was working on the Senate staff, before I started teaching at Princeton, a recurring challenge was the lack of rigorous independent research on platform problems. We were mostly compelled to rely on anecdotes, which made oversight and building a factual record for legislation difficult.

[9wzYQbTYsAIc]

I’m curious as to your take on independent scholarship, outside of the domain of academia?

Would appropriately rigorous independent scholarship be considered as a trustworthy source within your sphere?

[jonathanmayer]

> Would appropriately rigorous independent scholarship be considered as a trustworthy source within your sphere?

Definitely. Academia doesn't have a monopoly on excellent technology and society research. The Markup's data-driven investigative journalism, for example, is outstanding.