Protect ACLED API

[davidpomerenke]

No description provided.

[davidpomerenke]

This is not technically feasible. Our website will be called from the browser of the clients, at many different IPs, and we have to send the data to them to display it. We could check information such as the HTTP header, and there's (commercial) tool to block people who "abuse" an API (e.g. bundeshaushalt.de uses one), but then there's cheap tools to circumvene those.

Still, we could setup CORS and browser detection to show our good intent.

[davidpomerenke]

Moreover, from the ACLED Terms of Use:

Attribution Policy

1. If using ACLED data in any way, direct or manipulated, these data must be clearly and prominently acknowledged. Proper acknowledgement includes (1) a footnote with the full citation which includes a link to ACLED’s website (see below for examples), (2) in-text citation/acknowledgement, stating that ACLED is the source of these data and that these data are publicly available, and/or (3) clear citation on any and all visuals making use of ACLED data.

Please also indicate:

The date you accessed these data: the ACLED dataset is a ‘living dataset’, with updates made weekly, so your date of access will help clarify the specific ‘snapshot’ of ACLED data you have accessed.
Which data you accessed: what filters did you use to isolate the relevant events (what countries, time periods, event types, actors, etc.)?
In what ways you have manipulated these data: are there any changes to the unit of analysis, categorization, groupings, etc. which would result in your data structure looking different from the original ACLED data?
In what ways have you added to or amended these data: did you generate a new violence variable based on the original data? Did you add your own or another assessment of violence to the original data? This will help demonstrate whether and how the ACLED data used in your analysis has been slightly or considerably amended, and in which ways.
2. If generating a data file for public or private use, and presenting those data to another party, the ACLED data included must be directly acknowledged in a source column, including ACLED’s full name and a link: “Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED); www.acleddata.com.”

[...]

6. If using ACLED data in a visual, graphic, or map of your own, please attribute the source data clearly and prominently on the visual itself or within the key/legend and include a link to ACLED’s website. This can be in small print on the bottom of the image. Please note your date of data access. These citations should be included for both standalone infographics as well as for tables/figures within a larger report. If unable to include a link on a static visual file, please note “acleddata.com” as the source URL.

[...]

10. Please do not use the ACLED logo to denote use of ACLED data unless explicitly authorized. The ACLED logo is reserved for products created directly by ACLED or jointly with ACLED.

In summary:

• we need to add the following columns to the data @davidpomerenke
  • access_date -- won't implement for now due to technical reasons
  • source: "Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED); www.acleddata.com."
• in the UI @vogelino
  • below the protest visual: "Source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)" with link to acleddata.com
  • in the single protest view: "Source: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)" with link to acleddata.com
  • do not use the ACLED logo
• in the methodology explanation
  •  explain how the data has been manipulated (probably just link to the source code)

[vogelino]

These are great points. Unfortunate from a design perspective but absolutely important! I've added a ticket for this #86