I was reading this article from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
The Fediverse Could Be Awesome (if we don’t screw it up)...wherein they say:
"...Here are some choices we hope that the operators and users of federated systems will make:
1. Adopt the Santa Clara Principles on content moderation: The shift to smaller federated instances creates more opportunities for better transparency, due process and accountability for content moderation. EFF, along with a broad international coalition of NGOs, has developed a set of principles for content hosts that support the basic human rights of users. We hope that most of the fediverse makes these recommendations for user protections the baseline and even exceeds them, especially for larger hosts in the network. ..."
Oh? So what is in the
Santa Clara Principles?
"2. Understandable Rules and Policies
Principle: Companies should publish clear and precise rules and policies relating to when action will be taken with respect to users’ content or accounts, in an easily accessible and central location.
Implementation: Users should be able to readily understand the following:
- What types of content are prohibited by the company and will be removed, with detailed guidance and examples of permissible and impermissible content;
- What types of content the company will take action against other than removal, such as algorithmic downranking, with detailed guidance and examples on each type of content and action; and
- The circumstances under which the company will suspend a user’s account, whether permanently or temporarily. ..."
I know these folks mean well, but my reaction is: Have any of them EVER moderated an Internet group of any sort? Because "clear and precise rules and policies" are a fairy tale. They will be immediately defeated by human beings' amazing ingenuity for doing the wrong thing.
Mike Masnick has a good explanation on Techdirt:
Hey Elon: Let Me Help You Speed Run The Content Moderation Learning Curve