> What can be done to stop Facebook closing down these research projects? Maybe I'm being naive, but what I would do is conduct my research without having a fa

> What can be done to stop Facebook closing down these research projects? Maybe I'm being naive, but what I would do is conduct my research without having a facebook account myself and without directly accessing or sending any messages through its servers. That way I wouldn't be bound by facebook's terms of service (if they're legally binding at all) and wouldn't incur any legal liability for unauthorized access to someone else's computer. I hope the researchers took those precautions, but nothing would surprise me.