Data Ethics in the Fediverse: Analyzing the Role of Instance Policies in Mastodon Research
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909607764426752 |
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| author | Lisker, Mareike Mihaljević, Helena |
| author_facet | Lisker, Mareike Mihaljević, Helena |
| contents | This article addresses the disconnect between the individual policy documents of Mastodon instances--many of which explicitly prohibit data collection for research purposes--and the actual data handling practices observed in academic research involving Mastodon. We present a systematic analysis of 29 works that used Mastodon as a data source, revealing limited adherence to instance--level policies despite researchers' general awareness of their existence. Our findings underscore the need for broader discussion about ethical obligations in research on alternative, decentralized social media platforms. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_07606 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Data Ethics in the Fediverse: Analyzing the Role of Instance Policies in Mastodon Research Lisker, Mareike Mihaljević, Helena Social and Information Networks K.4.1; A.1 This article addresses the disconnect between the individual policy documents of Mastodon instances--many of which explicitly prohibit data collection for research purposes--and the actual data handling practices observed in academic research involving Mastodon. We present a systematic analysis of 29 works that used Mastodon as a data source, revealing limited adherence to instance--level policies despite researchers' general awareness of their existence. Our findings underscore the need for broader discussion about ethical obligations in research on alternative, decentralized social media platforms. |
| title | Data Ethics in the Fediverse: Analyzing the Role of Instance Policies in Mastodon Research |
| topic | Social and Information Networks K.4.1; A.1 |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.07606 |