Facebook demands academics disable ad-targeting data tool

Academics, journalists and First Amendment lawyers are rallying behind New York University researchers in a showdown with Facebook over its demand that they halt the collection of data showing who is being micro-targeted by political ads on the world’s dominant social media platform.The researchers say the disputed tool is vital to understanding how Facebook has been used as a conduit for disinformation and manipulation.In an Oct. 16 letter to the researchers, a Facebook executive demanded