Implementing basic training programs for researchers/innovators involved in the processing might be extremely useful in order to avoid data protection issues while processing data obtained from social media. Some useful resources to this purpose are, for example, available by the Fundamental Rights Agency[1], IEEE and its ethics guidelines[2], and the European Commission[3]. This training should also include a deep understanding of the Developer Policy of the social network from which the data will be gathered.
If training is not possible, implementing advice from an external expert from the very beginning of the project could be an acceptable alternative. If the researchers/innovators are gathering data from a concrete social network, this training should include a careful analysis of its particular Developer Policy. An early involvement of DPOs from the participating institutions is highly advised.
Adopting appropriate measures in terms of ensuring confidentiality, integrity and availability of data is also strongly recommendable (see the ‘Measures in support of confidentiality’ subsection in the ‘Integrity and confidentiality’ section of the ‘Principles’ chapter).
References
1https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2018/handbook-european-data-protection-law-2018-edition and ↑
2https://ethicsinaction.ieee.org/ ↑
3https://ec.europa.eu/justice/smedataprotect/index_en.htm ↑