Abstract
This report was developed in the context of the 'Social Media Governance' project, with the steering of the Project Co-Leads and the guidance of the Project Advisory Group, supported by the GPAI Responsible AI Expert Working Group. The GPAI Responsible AI Expert Working Group agreed to declassify this report and make it publicly available.
A key objective of the Digital Services Act (DSA) is to provide transparency about the impacts of Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) on users and society more generally, and about how any harmful effects that are identified can be countered.
A key mechanism by which the DSA proposes to achieve this is by granting independent researchers access to platforms to identify risks and harms, under a Delegated Regulation whose terms are currently being discussed.
In order to answer critically important research questions and to identify risks, this Delegated Regulation must enable vetted external researchers to undertake ethical controlled experimentation on platforms, with appropriate consent and oversight. The gold standard of such experimentation is A/B testing.
There is ample evidence that the results of A/B experiments on platforms can be safely disseminated, without disclosing company IP or personal user data.
The Delegated Regulation could establish robust frameworks to uphold the rights and wellbeing of users participating in A/B tests, similar to those that govern randomised controlled trials in the medical field.
Enabling A/B testing on VLOPs by independent researchers would foster the development of a public science of VLOP impacts on users and society.