Content Moderation: Background Reading

From the IFTAS Moderator Library, supporting Fediverse trust & safety

Updated on 2024-04-30

Regardless of the problem being addressed by content moderation, removal of an online post is a limitation of a user’s freedom of expression, so this also needs to be done in a way which is predictable, legitimate, necessary and proportionate.

To minimise the risk of hasty, ineffective, counterproductive or disproportionate responses to newly arising challenges, (moderators) should aim to develop a clear, public methodology for categorising different types of content and developing adequate and human rights compliant responses. Such a public methodology should be made available by (…) online platforms in a transparent and easily accessible manner.

Content Moderation Guidance Note, Council of Europe

Ethical Web Principles – The web should be a platform that helps people and provides a positive social benefit. As we continue to evolve the web platform, we must therefore consider the consequences of our work.

Fediverse Guides

Moderation guides written by Fediverse admins and moderation teams.

Research

  • Moderating the Fediverse: Content Moderation on Distributed Social Media: Current approaches to content moderation generally assume the continued dominance of “walled gardens”: social media platforms that control who can use their services and how. But an emerging form of decentralized social media—the “Fediverse”—offers an alternative model, one more akin to how email works and that avoids many of the pitfalls of centralized moderation. This essay, which builds on an emerging literature around decentralized social media, seeks to give an overview of the Fediverse, its benefits and drawbacks, and how government action can influence and encourage its development. Rozenshtein, Alan Z., Moderating the Fediverse: Content Moderation on Distributed Social Media (November 23, 2022). 3 Journal of Free Speech Law 217 (2023), Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 23-19

Best Practices

Ensuring Safety for Marginalised People

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