If we no longer want to leave social media in the hands of big tech, it also means we must take responsibility for moderation into our own hands. In the federated internet — the fediverse — that responsibility lies with communities and civil society organisations. Precisely to keep these networks safe, fair, and scalable, civic moderation is essential. But how do we organise that in practice? In this publication we show that the willingness among civil society organisations is present, but that adequate resources and support are lacking, and we put forward concrete proposals to make civic moderation possible.
In the Online Content Moderation project (PrOCoM), Waag investigated what roles and responsibilities civil society organisations can take on in moderating social media, specifically in the context of the federated internet, or fediverse.
A key finding from the research is that civil society organisations consider moderation an important societal task, but that at present there are insufficient resources and support to be able or willing to take on that responsibility. Civil society organisations do not always yet see an active role for themselves in this regard. They do indicate a willingness to explore the possibilities of the fediverse and to investigate how they might carry out moderation tasks in relation to their public function. Some organisations already host a fediverse instance and wish to expand this, provided the conditions improve. A number see their role primarily as a service provider — for example, by offering knowledge and training, or as an advisor contributing to thinking around moderation regulation. Conversations with moderators who are already active reveal a need for knowledge exchange, legal support, and better moderation tools.
Recommendations
Given the societal importance, it is advisable to support civic moderation. Based on this research, Waag makes the following recommendations:
- Develop a Civic Moderation Programme to support civil society organisations in moderation on legal and operational matters, mutual collaboration, training and professionalisation, and public programming.
- Create space for experimentation in living labs where civil society organisations can gain experience with the fediverse, and support technological innovation in the areas of applications, moderation tools, and interface design.
- Lead by example as a government by using federated social media yourself.
