Better Access: Data for the Common Good
Join KGI for a live discussion introducing the Better Access framework and unpacking what the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape means for independent access to high-influence public platform data. Members of KGI’s Expert Working Group on Public Platform Data will explore current barriers to access, emerging regulatory responses in the EU, UK, and US, and what the next phase of platform data access could look like heading into 2026 and beyond.
Online
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST
Online platforms shape what we know, how we connect, and who gets heard. From elections and public health to commerce and conflict, these platforms are now indispensable infrastructure for civic life. Yet just as their influence has grown, independent access to public platform data has steadily diminished.
In recent years, platforms such as Meta, Reddit, and X have restricted or eliminated data access tools that researchers, journalists, and civil society relied on to help understand our information environments. At the same time, this same public platform data is increasingly monetized for advertising, data brokerage, and AI training. This imbalance – where companies profit while independent researchers and the public are left in the dark – undermines transparency, limits free expression, and weakens oversight.
Our webinar introduces Better Access, a new baseline framework developed by the Knight-Georgetown Institute’s (KGI) Expert Working Group on Public Platform Data to help restore independent, ethical access to high-influence public platform data: the narrow slice of public platform data that has the greatest impact on civic life due to its reach, source, or role in shaping what people see online.
Registration is required. Register for the webinar here.
The Better Access webinar will feature remarks by Laura Edelson (Northeastern University; Cybersecurity for Democracy Project), Leticia Bode (KGI), Mark Scott (Atlantic Council; Digital Forensic Research Lab’s Democracy + Tech Initiative), and Peter Chapman (KGI), discussing the following topics, with time for Q&A:
- Examining existing barriers to public platform data access and its impact across health, commerce, conflict, and more.
- Exploring emerging regulatory developments and enforcement actions across the EU, UK, and US, and what the future could look like for data access.
- Explaining how the Better Access framework defines high-influence public platform data, including key technical and contextual thresholds.
Join us to explore how Better Access can help secure independent, ethical data access and oversight – giving the public a clearer view into the digital public sphere that increasingly shapes our online and offline lives.