Hey there, I’ve dealt with this exact headache while working on academic projects involving Facebook data—let me break down what’s happening and how you can get back on track for your university course project.

First off, that error is a result of Facebook tightening up access to public page content. Even if you could pull posts before, you now need explicit approval for the Page Public Content Access permission to scrape content from pages you don’t manage. But since this is a university course project, you’ve got some tailored options:

1. Apply for Academic Research Access (Top Recommendation) #

Facebook has a dedicated permission pathway for academic work and course projects called Academic Research Access, which is way more aligned with your non-commercial use case than the standard Page Public Content Access review. When applying, make sure to highlight:

• This is strictly a university course assignment, with no commercial intent whatsoever
• The data will only be used for your course analysis/report, and won’t be shared publicly or repurposed for profit
• You’ll adhere to Facebook’s data guidelines, like anonymizing any user-specific data you collect

2. Prepare Materials for Standard Page Public Content Access Review #

If you opt for the standard permission review, you’ll need to submit detailed documentation to Facebook’s developer portal:

• A clear breakdown of your project: which public figure’s posts you’re analyzing, what metrics or themes you’re focusing on (e.g., engagement trends, content topics)
• Proof that this is a university course project (like a copy of your syllabus or an email from your professor confirming the assignment)
• A statement that you’ll only use the data for the duration of the course and won’t redistribute it

3. Quick Workarounds If You’re Crunched for Time #

If the review process is taking too long and you have a deadline looming:

• Manually collect a sample dataset: For many course projects, a smaller, manually curated set of posts (copied directly from the public page) is totally acceptable and avoids API permission issues
• Use the page’s official export tool: Some public Facebook pages let you export post data directly through their page settings (look for an "Export Data" option)—this is fully compliant and doesn’t require API access

⚠️ Critical Note: Never try to bypass these permission rules (like using unauthorized third-party tools or faking access). It violates Facebook’s developer terms and could get your account permanently banned, which would derail your project entirely.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者AlejandroForza