From Inquisitorial to Adversarial: Using Legal Theory to Redesign Online Reporting Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Wang, Leijie, Wu, Weizi, Que, Lirong, Tyagi, Nirvan, Zhang, Amy X.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Wang, Leijie
Wu, Weizi
Que, Lirong
Tyagi, Nirvan
Zhang, Amy X.
author_facet Wang, Leijie
Wu, Weizi
Que, Lirong
Tyagi, Nirvan
Zhang, Amy X.
contents User reporting systems are central to addressing interpersonal conflicts and protecting users from harm in online spaces, particularly those with heightened privacy expectations. However, users often express frustration at their lack of insight and input into the reporting process. Drawing on offline legal literature, we trace these frustrations to the inquisitorial nature of today's online reporting systems, where moderators lead evidence gathering and case development. In contrast, adversarial models can grant users greater control and thus are better for procedural justice and privacy protection, despite their increased risks of system abuse. This motivates us to explore the potential of incorporating adversarial practices into online reporting systems. Through literature review, formative interviews, and threat modeling, we find a rich design space for empowering users to collect and present their evidence while mitigating potential abuse in the reporting process. In particular, we propose designs that minimize the amount of information shared for reporting purposes, as well as supporting evidence authentication. Finally, we discuss how our findings can inform new cryptographic tools and new efforts to apply comparative legal frameworks to online moderation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_07041
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Inquisitorial to Adversarial: Using Legal Theory to Redesign Online Reporting Systems
Wang, Leijie
Wu, Weizi
Que, Lirong
Tyagi, Nirvan
Zhang, Amy X.
Human-Computer Interaction
User reporting systems are central to addressing interpersonal conflicts and protecting users from harm in online spaces, particularly those with heightened privacy expectations. However, users often express frustration at their lack of insight and input into the reporting process. Drawing on offline legal literature, we trace these frustrations to the inquisitorial nature of today's online reporting systems, where moderators lead evidence gathering and case development. In contrast, adversarial models can grant users greater control and thus are better for procedural justice and privacy protection, despite their increased risks of system abuse. This motivates us to explore the potential of incorporating adversarial practices into online reporting systems. Through literature review, formative interviews, and threat modeling, we find a rich design space for empowering users to collect and present their evidence while mitigating potential abuse in the reporting process. In particular, we propose designs that minimize the amount of information shared for reporting purposes, as well as supporting evidence authentication. Finally, we discuss how our findings can inform new cryptographic tools and new efforts to apply comparative legal frameworks to online moderation.
title From Inquisitorial to Adversarial: Using Legal Theory to Redesign Online Reporting Systems
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.07041