Waag Futurelab has decided to block the federated server of Threads (Meta's alternative to X) on Mastodon. In this way, Waag is trying to ensure the integrity and security of its self-hosted 'instance' Waag.Social. The lack of moderation or any transparent policy for this at Threads led to this decision.
Read Marleen Stikker's reaction to Threads and her federation ambitions on Nu.nl here.
The federated setup and connection to Threads’ server may cause hateful, racist, xenophobic or other undesirable content to be inevitably mixed with our own content. There is a risk that users who have connections on Threads may encounter unwanted comments, which are then federated to our server and become visible on Waag.social.
There is a lack of a clear moderation policy on Threads, which creates uncertainty for users on our server about the choices behind them. By blocking Threads on our Mastodon server, we are taking proactive steps to provide a safe and approachable environment, especially for less experienced users, who may not be able to individually block unwanted connections.
Moreover, using Threads poses specific risks to the privacy of our users. Direct Messages (DMs) to Threads users end up in an opaque black box of Threads, whose reputation for privacy protection is questionable, to say the least. In addition, users run the risk of ending up in Threads' algorithms, potentially resulting in findability by unwanted accounts.
If Threads decides to develop and implement adequate moderation policies, Waag Futurelab will reconsider enabling federation with the server.
