The 2024 IFTAS Needs Assessment Report is Here!

We are pleased to to announce the release of the 2024 Fediverse Trust & Safety Needs Assessment Report. This annual report is a cornerstone of our mission to support the decentralised social web with evidence-based research and actionable recommendations for moderators, community managers, and administrators.

This year’s report reflects the insights of 183 services spanning platforms like Mastodon, Lemmy, and Peertube, collectively hosting over 4.3 million accounts. This year we also heard from volunteer independent moderators on Bluesky. By analysing the experiences and feedback of these moderators and admins across the Fediverse, the report highlights the challenges and opportunities within this rapidly evolving ecosystem.

We will follow up with an analysis of what we’ve seen change since last year’s report, as well as key resources we think can help solve some of the needs identified.

Key Findings

• Resource gaps – only 16% of communities have 24-hour moderator coverage, and nearly half of moderator teams lack formal guidance. That said, we see roughly one moderator for every 1,200 active accounts.
• Top ranked priorities – moderators need tools for CSAM detection, spam prevention, and legal guidance for compliance with regulations like GDPR.
• Burnout is a persistent issue – one in five moderators report experiencing trauma or burnout this year, underlining the need for wellness and resilience resources.
• Financial struggles – most communities operate on donations, and overall our survey participants are not generating enough money to cover costs. Very few moderators are receiving any compensation for their labour.

IFTAS Initiatives

Informed by last year’s findings, IFTAS has developed several solutions and programs, including a Fediverse CSAM scanner, a comprehensive Moderator Handbook (coming soon), and the creation of FediCheck for automated denylist management. Moving forward, we aim to expand resources for moderator wellness, launch our CSAM scanner for broader use (please register your interest), improve tooling for non-consensual image detection, and introduce new community guidelines templates.

We encourage everyone in the Fediverse community to read the full report for a deeper understanding of the challenges facing decentralised moderation and the innovative solutions underway.

➡️ Read the Full Report Here

Get Involved

IFTAS thrives on collaboration. Join our community of practice at IFTAS Connect, use our resources, or support our mission with a charitable donation to help make the Fediverse a safer, more inclusive space for all.

Let’s work together to empower moderators and create a stronger, safer social web!

#TogetherStronger 💙

#ActivityPub #BetterSocialMedia #Bluesky #Fediverse #TogetherStronger

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