Today, the European Parliament adopted the trilogue deal on the extension of the controversial, error-prone voluntary bulk scanning of private messages and photos for suspected content by US internet companies until April 2026. This extension, known as #ChatControl 1.0 or interim ePrivacy derogation regulation, was now carelessly adopted in a fast-track procedure before the European elections. Initially, the European Parliament majority aimed to extend the regulation by only 9 months to swiftly transition to targeted surveillance of suspects and a more effective approach to protecting children. However, today’s deal extends the status quo by more than twice the period originally envisioned, prompting criticism from Pirate Party MEPs, who have long advocated against this unprecedented mass surveillance tool.

Patrick Breyer, Member of the European Parliament for the German Pirate Party, comments:

“The EU Parliament’s decision to extend blanket chat control contradicts its stated goal of protecting fundamental rights. Moreover, this deal fails to provide a stronger and court-proof protection against child sexual abuse. Victims deserve better. Bulk scanning makes no significant contribution to saving abused children or convicting perpetrators of abuse. Instead, it exposes thousands of minors to potential criminalization, overburdens law enforcement, and facilitates arbitrary private justice by internet companies. As a Pirate, I am working to stop the illegal bulk chat control scanning in court. We will be watching every move of the EU Council which aims at adopting the extreme dystopia of mandatory chat control 2.0 to destroy digital privacy of correspondence and secure encryption.”

Marcel Kolaja, Member and Quaestor of the European Parliament for the Czech Pirate Party, comments:

“Child sexual abuse on the Internet is a severe problem that we should be addressing with all urgency. Unfortunately, the debate on this important issue has become an endless battle for our privacy. As a result, we still do not have an effective framework for the protection of children. Something that we should have put in place years ago. Instead, the Commission is doing unsystematic steps by giving the companies that have historically treated our private data the worst the power to invade our privacy and read all our online messages however they please. They say it’s with children’s safety in mind. However, those internet services have been snooping into people’s private communications for years now and we have seen no convincing evidence that this has actually helped to anything. To think that extending this exemption, the legality of which I strongly doubt, will do more good than it will do harm is naïve to say the least.”

Find more information on www.ChatControl.eu

patrick-breyer.de/en/chatcontr…

If you’re reading this, chances are, you’re brand new to the idea of the Fediverse, and are just now hearing about it. Someone may have tried to explain it to you in the comments, saying “it’s like email, but social!”, leaving you no closer to deducing what it even means. Don’t worry – we’re here to help you go through the concepts, step by step, without making anything complicated.

Table of Contents

• The Basic Idea
  
  • What is the Fediverse?
  • Wait, what is ActivityPub?

  
  

• Interacting with the Fediverse from Threads
  
  • Can my Threads account connect to the Fediverse?
  • So, I can’t follow anyone not on Threads?
  • Is there a way to see Fediverse replies to my post?
  • Do I have control over which servers my posts go to?

  
  

• Joining the Fediverse Outside of Threads
  
  • Why would I want to try the Fediverse elsewhere?

  
  

• Do I have to start my own server?
• Do you have resources for Mastodon?

The Basic Idea

What is the Fediverse?

The Fediverse (Federation + Universe) is an open communication network, built on top of the Web, where individual sites can talk to each other. A person on one site can follow someone else on another, and interact with them in a way that’s pretty similar to traditional social media.

An Easy Example

To make it even simpler: there was a time in the mid-2000’s where Facebook started to overtake Myspace in terms of popularity. For a while, it was common to have half of your friends in one place, and half of your friends in the other. Your Myspace friends couldn’t use Myspace to talk to their Facebook friends. There’s just no way to make those services talk to each other.

Tom and Mark could never follow each other this way.

At first, this seems kind of obvious. Well, duh, of course that’s not going to work! There’s no way for either site to connect or even understand each other. But if you think about it, there’s no real reason that services can’t talk to each other. They just need a common language and shared understanding to work.

That’s basically what ActivityPub is designed to do.

Wait, what is ActivityPub?

ActivityPub is what we call a federation protocol. Federation is the way that servers in this network talk to each other, and a protocol is just the shared language they use to make sense of each other. ActivityPub is just one effort to make this thing work – there have been others in the past, like OStatus or Zot, and there are other approaches currently in use, like the AT Protocol that Bluesky uses.
Left: Mastodon, Right: Pixelfed. People on either app can talk to each other!
Without getting too into the weeds: ActivityPub is designed around making different kinds of platforms capable of talking to each other.

Mastodon, for example, bears a passing resemblance to Twitter. Pixelfed looks a lot like Instagram. People on each platform can talk to each other and see each others’ stuff with very little friction. Mastodon users can even watch PeerTube videos from their timeline, and listen to Funkwhale music!

Left: watching a PeerTube video from Mastodon. Right: Listening to a Funkwhale track from Mastodon

It turns out that this is a really powerful idea! It’s possible to tear down walls between platforms, and with this new shared understanding, talk to each other natively.

Interacting with the Fediverse from Threads

The Fediverse is a big, big world: it spans nearly 20,000+ individual servers, the majority of which connect in some way, shape, or form. It can be exciting to explore, but navigating it can take some getting used to.

Can my Threads account connect to the Fediverse?

Kind of. Fediverse integration for Threads is still in Beta, and is mostly one-way at the moment. What this means is that people across the network can see your posts, and they can send likes back to you, but you can’t follow anybody or see their comments yet.
Left: The President’s Threads account, as seen on Threads. Right: the same account, as seen on Mastodon.
Mastodon and the rest of the Fediverse are capable of following Threads users that have the integration turned on, provided that the Mastodon server operators haven’t blocked Threads. A lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of Meta being part of an open network, and some servers have blocked Threads completely.

So, I can’t follow anyone not on Threads?

Not at the moment. Fediverse users can follow your Threads account, see and boost your posts, and like them.

It’s kind of a weird choice on Meta’s part to do the integration this way, but it’s likely they wanted to prioritize broadcasting before they dug into the messier business of receiving.

Is there a way to see Fediverse replies to my post?

Actually, yes! It’s a workaround for the moment, but you can look up your profile on Mastodon to see the Fediverse replies. Mastodon.social currently lets you do this, and doesn’t require an account.

Copy and paste your Fediverse username into the search form on Mastodon, and your Threads account will show up!

Keep in mind, this is an imperfect solution. This view simply shows you the responses that specific Mastodon server knows about. There are a number of servers that either don’t connect to each other, or don’t keep every reply on hand.

Do I have control over which servers my posts go to?

Privacy controls on Threads are still a bit limited, but it’s possible to block specific Fediverse users under Settings > Privacy > Block Users in the Fediverse.

Currently, it doesn’t look like there’s a way to block entire servers.

Joining the Fediverse Outside of Threads

After opening up sharing with the Fediverse from your Threads account, you might be curious about trying it out for yourself.

There’s a lot of cool stuff to do – which is why a big part of our site is dedicated to writing about the subject. Here’s a handful of questions that we’ve seen from Threads users already.

Why would I want to try the Fediverse elsewhere?

There are a couple of benefits that makes the wider network worth exploring. Let’s dig in!

Greater User Control

The Fediverse typically provides more control to end users regarding what they see, who they connect to, and how they share content online.

While you are still beholden to the admin of your server and the Terms of Service there, you’re far less likely to see a company like Meta restricting your articles, if you’re not on their servers. You can do your community, your way.

Tons of Communities

As a network, the Fediverse is a medley of different platforms, communities, and mediums. There are thousands of servers connected to each other, featuring academics, researchers, authors, musicians, artists, comedians, and more.

Diverse Experiences

The Fediverse already has analogs of most popular social networks:

• YouTube PeerTube
• Grooveshark Funkwhale
• Twitter Mastodon
• Instagram Pixelfed
• Reddit Lemmy
• VK Smithereen
• Goodreads Bookwyrm
• Twitch Owncast

There are also a lot of platforms that don’t have a direct thing to compare to, like Hubzilla, Misskey, and Emissary.

A lot of people are out there building the experiences they want to see, while plugging into a network that’s constantly getting bigger. A huge selling point is that they can work together.

Unique Apps

Out of all the Fediverse platforms out there, Mastodon currently has the most mobile apps. There’s a huge amount of variety – just look at all these!

Do I have to start my own server?

You don’t! While a lot of people do end up running their own servers, it’s never a requirement for participating. There are lots of community-run servers for just about every platform in the space.

Do you have resources for Mastodon?

We do! Here’s a comprehensive guide on Mastodon, with a ton of tips and insights on how to use the network to your advantage.

The Newcomer’s Guide to Mastodon, from a Crusty Old-Timer

wedistribute.org/2023/07/masto…

I have a question not listed here!

No problem! This is a living document, and we’re here to update the list as new things get asked. Comment below, or reply to us on Threads, and we’ll send a response and update this piece!

The post A Beginner’s Guide to the Fediverse, for Threads Users appeared first on We Distribute.

IFTAS, the Trust & Safety organization dedicated to the Fediverse, published a guide on the EU’s Digital Services Act earlier this week. The guidance is primarily geared towards instance admins and moderation teams in the Fediverse, and spells out policy obligations for compliance.

If your server has member accounts in the EU, or is publicly viewable in the EU, your service is most likely impacted by this regulation, even if you are not based or hosted in the EU.
IFTAS BLOG

Despite the fact that there are now new considerations in place for people who run Fediverse instances, there are a number of positive outcomes here:

• Most Fediverse servers are relatively small communities, and likely fall under the designation of “Small and Micro Enterprises” – if your server doesn’t employ 50 or more people, and doesn’t take an annual income of over 10 million Euros, you’re probably in this designation. Compared to Very Large Online Platforms, your obligations are fewer in comparison.
• Services are not considered liable for content unless they have been notified of its presence. Failure to take said content down is where the liability starts
• Platforms are not held liable for proactively searching for and removing illegal content.

Big Takeaways

Most of what’s listed in EU DSA requirements come across as simple, common sense, and already-adopted practices. The report published by IFTAS provides suggestions for best practices, and even includes templates for the bare minimum requirements for admins to use.

The biggest changes admins need to be aware of mostly relate to accountability: servers need to assign an EU representative for compliance, need to report on malicious content to local authorities, and needs to provide a notice mechanism (such as email) to inform suspended or banned users of a service of the action taken, as well as the reason.

On the matter of being required to assign an EU-based representative for compliance, IFTAS states the following:

If your service is accessible to users in the EU but you don’t have an establishment there, you’re required to designate either a legal or natural person as your legal representative within one of the Member States where you offer services.

Your legal representative will act on your behalf for interactions with the EU’s Member States’ authorities, regarding compliance with and enforcement of the DSA. You must notify the Digital Services Coordinator in the Member State of your representative’s name, postal address, email address, and telephone number. Ensure this information is public, easily accessible, accurate, and regularly updated. Most legal representative services do not offer an affordable option for donation-driven services.

IFTAS is researching ways to offer this service, but in the meantime, we strongly recommend you ensure you have added a designated contact for authorities to reach you

This will probably be the biggest hurdle for instance operators in the short term, as many instances are roughly the same size as a community group or forum, in terms of users. This is a new consideration for a lot of admins, and not necessarily one that anybody’s given thought to in the past fifteen years.

Regardless, IFTAS has produced a valuable service with lots of insight, advice, and examples for server admins. Hopefully, this will serve as a benefit to the Fediverse as many attempt to navigate compliance for the very first time.

Download the Report

The post IFTAS Publishes DSA Guide for the Fediverse appeared first on We Distribute.

We Distribute

2024-04-11 20:55:20

The European Union Digital Services Act is upon us! But don’t worry – our favorite Trust & Safety organization is here to demystify compliance.

wedistribute.org/2024/04/iftas…

IFTAS Publishes DSA Guide for the Fediverse

IFTAS, the Trust & Safety organization dedicated to the Fediverse, published a guide on the EU's Digital Services Act earlier this week. The guidance is primarily geared towards instance admins an

^{Sean Tilley (We Distribute)}

Shortly before the European Parliament is to extend the voluntary chat control bulk scanning of private messages by US services such as Facebook, Instagram, or Gmail by two years, the Regional Court of Kiel rejected in first instance a lawsuit filed by Pirate MEP Patrick Breyer to stop the scanning by Meta. The court reasoned cited formal grounds, suggesting that Mr. Breyer could avoid chat control by manually activating end-to-end encryption in his Facebook chats. Additionally, it held that Mr. Breyer could “not pursue a political campaign … in the context of civil proceedings”. Mr. Breyer has announced that he will appeal the decision:

“I am now appealing to the Higher Regional Court to push Meta to encrypt chats by default and to stop the indiscriminate chat control scanning by other providers as a violation of our right to digital privacy of correspondence. During the trial, Zuckerberg’s Meta group did everything in its power to prevent a ruling on the legality of its arbitrary bulk scanning. They will not succeed in the long term.” Mr. Breyer also refers to the pending, parallel lawsuit brought by a victim of child sexual abuse before the Passau Regional Court, which is supported by the Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (Society for Civil Liberties).

“It makes me furious that private US corporations want to self-police our personal messages. This Big Brother attack on our mobile phones, private messages, and photos using error-prone algorithms is as if the post office opened and scanned all letters – ineffective and illegal. Victims of child sexual abuse have long criticised the fact that bulk chat control scanning harms them by destroying safe spaces for self-help, therapy, and counselling. Flooding our already overburdened police investigators with oftentimes false machine denunciations and thereby reducing capacities for targeted investigations against the people committing the abuse has nothing to do with efficiency. Organised ‘child porn rings’ do not use unencrypted messenger services. The main consequence of chat control is the mass criminalisation of young people because of careless chat messages they sent or consensual sexting – which is the opposite of child protection”. Mr. Breyer refers to German police crime statistics published yesterday, according to which almost 40% of suspects for “child pornography” offences last year were minors.

Meanwhile, the EU interior ministers are discussing a globally unique follow-up regulation (Chat Control 2.0), which is intended to make chat control mandatory and destroy secure end-to-end encryption.


Patrick Breyer’s information portal on chat control

patrick-breyer.de/en/pirate-la…