https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/09/facebook_data_sharing_academics/

Facebook has announced an initiative it says will help academics investigate the effect of social media on society without overstepping the privacy line.

Broadly, the plan is to set up a commission of independent, "respected academic experts" who will develop a research agenda to assess how social media impacts democracy, and then review and sign-off on research proposals from other academics.