Get access
To help ensure a fair and independent application process, Meta has partnered with the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) based at the University of Michigan to assess researcher qualifications and review submissions from global applicants to Meta Content Library and API.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for access, applicants must be affiliated with a qualified academic institution or a qualified research institution. Individuals from different disciplinary and professional backgrounds are welcome to apply.
For academic institutions, qualified means the institution meets all of the following criteria. It is:
- Dedicated to the pursuit of education and research.
- Accredited, as indicated by recognized standards and evidence on the institution's website (such as a university), or as demonstrated by documentation provided to ICPSR.
- Qualified to grant academic degrees (such as undergraduate, graduate, doctoral).
- A not-for-profit endeavor (in other words, not a business whose sole purpose is to make a profit).
For research institutions, qualified means that the institution meets all of these criteria:
- A non-university organization, institute, society or entity.
- Not-for-profit institution.
- Institution dedicated to scientific or public interest research.
Application and access process
Step 1: Review application requirements and submit an application.
You can find an overview of the application process and data tools on the ICPSR Social Media Archive (SOMAR). We also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Meta Content Library application page on the SOMAR site and ICPSR’s application guide before applying.
ICPSR will notify Meta and the applicant if the application is approved. Applicants can expect the review process to take between four and six weeks.
Step 2: Fulfill additional data access requirements.
Each individual who will access the Meta Content Library user interface (UI) must accept a clickthrough agreement for the Product Terms. If the clickthrough agreement is not appropriate for your institution (e.g., if your institution does not allow employees to consent to click-through Product Terms), Meta offers the option for the institution to sign an Information Sharing Agreement (ISA) to govern access at an institution level. The executed ISA may apply to various research agendas; however, new applications for new research proposals must be submitted. The Meta Content Library API is available to access via the ICPSR Virtual Data Enclave. A Data Use Agreement between ICPSR and your institution must be executed before you can be granted access to the platform.
The UI can be used separately or in conjunction with the Content Library API. For more information on the application requirements, please reference the ICPSR application guide.
Step 3: Gain access.
Access to Meta Content Library and Content Library API is provisioned after all access requirements are fulfilled. To continue accessing the tools, you must recertify your affiliation with your institution and research project on an annual basis.
Frequently asked questions about access, eligibility, and publication
Are global applicants eligible for access to Content Library and API?
We welcome global users, but access to or use of our tools and data must comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. In addition, the researcher applicant, and any academic university or institution with which the applicant is affiliated, must not be in a jurisdiction that is the target of sanctions imposed by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union or United Nations.
Is payment required to access Content Library and API?
No. There are no fees associated with access or computation.
What if my research agenda changes? Is a new application required?
If any substantive changes were made to a research agenda since having an application approved by ICPSR, a new application must be submitted.
Do global applicants affiliated with institutions not in the United States still need to apply through ICPSR?
Yes. All Content Library and API researcher applications are processed and reviewed by ICPSR.
How does the application and access process work for users who collaborate together or are part of a larger research team?
ICPSR will process and review applications from teams of researchers with a clearly identified research lead and collaborators. For more information please reference the ICPSR application page.
Does Meta place any restrictions on how I can publish with data from the Meta Content Library and API?
Research Outputs (such as tables, graphs, and analysis) may be published, but no Confidential Information or Personal Data.For publications based solely on Content Library and/or API, Meta will not ask to review research manuscripts prior to publication. However, we ask that researchers follow the Meta attribution guidelines (see Citations) and provide notice upon publishing.
Please refer to the Product Terms for Meta Research Tools for the requirements and conditions related to publication.