CSAM Primer

From the IFTAS Moderator Library, supporting Fediverse trust & safety

Updated on 2024-04-09

Disclaimer

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User Generated Content

If you operate an ActivityPub service you are an electronic communications provider and you likely meet the definitions of ESP, ISP, online service provider, and other nomenclature in law that describes electronic communications services. Services that federate with third parties, and/or have their content feeds visible to public users, and/or allow user account creation, are liable for the content they host and display to end users in all jurisdictions.

National and Extranational Law

Scroll down in the linked page to review the legality of real/realistic; fictional; and possession in most countries.

Legal status of fictional pornography depicting minors

Regardless of its legality in a given jurisdiction, if your content is available to end users in a jurisdiction where such content is illegal, you are liable for its availability.

Detection

Services exist to compare stored media with hashes of known material, and ML-assisted perceptual matches. For the most part, these are heavily restricted and will require your ability to sign legal agreements with the service providers.

If you are an independent provider and would like to use IFTAS detection services, please fill out this Needs Assessment: https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/thnEBypiNlR6qklaQNmWAkoxxeEEJdElpzM7h2ZIwXA/

CDN

Hash and Match APIs

Generally free of charge, these services allow you to call the API and receive a classification repsonse (e.g. “CSAM, likely CSAM, unknown”). You will likely be required to sign binding agreements.

Standalone Platforms

ActivityPub Platform-specific

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