Not a good look for Mastodon - what can be done to automate the removal of CSAM?

  • balls_expert
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    1 year ago

    Okay, thanks for the clarification

    Everyone except you still very much includes drawn & AI pornographic depictions of children within the basket of problematic content that should get filtered out of federated instances so thank you very much but I’m not sure your point changed anything.

    • priapus@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      They are not saying it shouldn’t be defederated, they are saying reporting this to authorities is pointless and that considering CSAM is harmful.

        • priapus@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Definitions of CSAM definitely do not include illustrated and simulated forms. They do not have a victim and therefore cannot be abuse. I agree that it should not be allowed on public platforms, hence why all instances hosting it should be defederated. Despite this, it is not illegal, so reporting it to authorities is a waste of time for you and the authorities who are trying to remove and prevent actual CSAM.

          • balls_expert
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            1 year ago

            CSAM definitions absolutely include illustrated and simulated forms. Just check the sources on the wikipedia link and climb your way up, you’ll see “cartoons, paintings, sculptures, …” in the wording of the protect act

            They don’t actually need a victim to be defined as such

            • priapus@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              That Wikipedia broader is about CP, a broader topic. Practically zero authorities will include illustrated and simualated forms of CP in their definitions of CSAM

              • balls_expert
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                1 year ago

                I assumed it was the same thing, but they could be different now that you mention it.

                So child porn then. I don’t think there’s a debate either on whether the fediverse should defederate from child porn either…

                • priapus@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 year ago

                  That’s not what I was debating. I was debating whether or not it should be reported to authorities. I made it clear in my previous comment that it is disturbing and should always be defederated.

                  • balls_expert
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                    1 year ago

                    Ah. It depends on the jurisdiction the instance is in

                    Mastodon has a lot of lolicon shit in japan-hosted instances for that reason

                    Lolicon is illegal under US protect act of 2003 and in plenty of countries

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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          What’s the point of reporting it to authorities? It’s not illegal, nor should it be because there’s no victim, so all reporting it does is take up valuable time that could be spent tracking down actual abuse.

          • balls_expert
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            1 year ago

            It’s illegal in a lot of places including where I live.

            In the US you have the protect act of 2003

            (a) In General.—Any person who, in a circumstance described in subsection (d), knowingly produces, distributes, receives, or possesses with intent to distribute, a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that— (1) (A) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and (B) is obscene; or (2) (A) depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; and (B) lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value; or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 2252A(b)(1), including the penalties provided for cases involving a prior conviction.

            Linked to the obscenity doctrine

            https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1466A

            • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Wow, that’s absolutely ridiculous, thanks for sharing! That would be a very unpopular bill to get overturned…

              I guess it fits with the rest of the stupidly named bills. It doesn’t protect anything, it just prosecutes undesirable behaviors.

              • balls_expert
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                1 year ago

                I don’t think there’s anything ridiculous about it. Lolicon should be illegal.

                  • balls_expert
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                    1 year ago

                    There’s no definite conclusion on whether consuming and distributing lolicon content could lead some individuals to seek out or create explicit content involving real children

                    If they rule that out entirely through the scientific method one day, then I’ll join your side

                    Weebs usually respond to that “Well that’s like saying video games cause violence!” so I’ll jump ahead of you, that would be like saying we should forbid Lolicon videogames in a society that already has lolicon books, lolicon movies, lolicon cartoons and where history classes mostly cover instances of countries showing lolicon to each other. That’s not the situation we’re in, and even if it was, it’s still not necessarily comparable. Sexual urges have properties that violence doesn’t share.

    • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If you don’t think images of actual child abuse, against actual children, is infinitely worse than some ink on paper, I don’t care about your opinion of anything.

      You can be against both. Don’t ever pretend they’re the same.

          • balls_expert
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            1 year ago

            You mean to say I’m wrong or you actually mean liar? Because I don’t see how that could make sense

            • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              ‘Everyone but you agrees with me!’ Bullshit.

              ‘Nobody wants this stuff that whole servers exist for.’ Self-defeating bullshit.

              ‘You just don’t understand.’ Not an argument.

              • balls_expert
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                1 year ago

                Okay, the former then.

                Let’s just think about it, how do you think it would turn out if you went outside and asked anyone about pornographic drawings of children? How long until you find someone who thinks like you outside your internet bubble?

                “Nobody wants this stuff that whole servers…”

                There are also servers dedicated to real child porn with real children too. Do you think that argument has any value with that tidbit of information tacked onto it?

                • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Ask a stranger about anything pornographic and see how it goes.

                  This is rapidly going from pointless to stupid. Suffice it to say: stop pretending drawings are ever as bad as actual child abuse.

                  • balls_expert
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                    1 year ago

                    Oh yes, to an extent. But it will go much different if the porn doesn’t involve depictions of children. I think you’re in denial

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Hey, just because someone has a stupid take on one subject doesn’t mean they have a stupid take on all subjects. Attack the argument, not the person.

        • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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          Some confused arguments reveal confused people. Some terrible arguments reveal terrible people. For example: I don’t give two fucks what Nazis think. Life’s too short to wonder which subjects they’re not facile bastards about.

          If someone’s motivation for making certain JPEGs hyper-illegal is “they’re icky” - they’ve lost benefit of the doubt. Because of their decisions, I no longer grant them that courtesy.

          Demanding pointless censorship earns my dislike.

          Equating art with violence earns my distrust.

          • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Perhaps. But pretty much everyone has a stupid take on something.

            There’s obviously a limit there, but most people can be reasoned with. So instead of jumping to a conclusion, attempt a dialogue first until they prove that they can’t be reasoned with. This is especially true on SM where, even if you can’t convince the person you’re talking with, you may just convince the next person to come along.

            • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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              Telling someone why they’re a stupid bastard for the sake of other people is not exactly a contradiction. You know what doesn’t do observers any good? “Debating” complete garbage, in a way that lends it respect and legitimacy. Sometimes you just need to call bullshit.

              Some bullshit is so blatant that it’s a black mark against the bullshitter.

              • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                Sure, and I don’t think that’s the case here. If someone is literally arguing that a certain race should be exterminated that’s one thing (report, down vote, block, and move on), but someone arguing that lolicon is just as bad as CP is something completely different entirely.

                I’m just arguing that it’s generally better to have the conversation than to completely shut them out. I really hate cancel culture, so I will always call out anything that seems similar. I believe in letting people explain themselves, to an extent, and my limit is if they’re actively promoting real harm to actual people (e.g. encouraging violence against some group).

                • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Someone arguing child rape is only as bad as drawing Bart Simpson naked is some kind of fucked up.

                  As other subthreads should thoroughly demonstrate - I don’t have to respect someone, to call them out. A position you recently endorsed. The end of polite and civil discussion between equals doesn’t mean the yelling has stopped.

                  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                    1 year ago

                    I’m not saying you shouldn’t call them out, in fact I’m 100% in favor of calling out BS. What I’m saying is to not shut down the conversation if the other side is willing to explain themselves or open to learning more.

                    One thing I absolutely loved about Reddit was joining communities where I was a minority and having a good faith discussion with someone I wasn’t ideologically aligned with. A lot of times I got completely shut down, but sometimes I had really good discussions and better understood the other side’s perspective.

                    So all I’m saying is you (and everyone here honestly) should seek to enable that kind of discussion instead of just stopping at the first sign of disagreement. Someone saying lolicon is as harmful as CP is probably just misinformed.

                    The end of polite and civil discussion

                    I have yet to see that, because I make a solid effort to have polite and civil discussion and I usually get it reciprocated.

                    If you’re aggressive, you’ll get aggressiveness back, but if you’re inquisitive and polite, you’ll likely get the same in return. Some people can’t be reasoned with, but I have found that many are open to hearing other perspectives, provided I go out of my way to be polite.

        • balls_expert
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          1 year ago

          He invented the stupid take he’s fighting against. Nobody equated “ink on paper” with “actual rape against children”.

          The bar to cross to be filtered out of the federation isn’t rape. Lolicon is already above the threshold, it’s embarrassing that he doesn’t realize that.

          • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            We’re not just talking about ‘ew gross icky’ exclusion from a social network. We’re talking about images whose possession is a felony. Images that are unambiguously the product of child rape.

            This paper treats them the same. You’re defending that false equivalence. You need to stop.

            • balls_expert
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              1 year ago

              Who places the bar for “exclusion from a social network” at felonies? Any kind child porn has no place on the fediverse, simulated or otherwise. That doesn’t mean they’re equal offenses, you’re just not responsible for carrying out anything other than cleaning out your porch.

              • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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                We’re not JUST talking about exclusion from a social network.

                Do you speak English?

                The subject matter is the part that’s a felony - so the glib inclusion of the part you just don’t like is dangerous misinformation.

                I am calling out how this study falsely equates child rape and gross drawings, and your neverending hot take is ‘well I don’t care for either.’ There’s not enough ‘who asked’ in the world. One of these things is tacitly legal and has sites listed on Google. One of these things means you die in prison, anywhere in the world.

                And here you are, still calling both of them “child porn.” In the same post insisting you’re not equating them. Thanks for keeping this simple, I guess.

                • balls_expert
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                  1 year ago

                  They’re studying the prevalence of CSAM under the definition of the country they’re in. It’d be arbitrary to separate the two and make two different conclusions.

                  Also you seriously need to take a chill pill

                  • mindbleach@lemmy.world
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                    No possible definition of child sexual abuse can include drawings.

                    Tell me otherwise in the same breath as insisting you’re not making that false equivalence. Apparently my patience is limitless when the lie is that fucking obvious.

                    edit: Hang on, the obvious lie disguised a stupid lie. What country do you think Stanford is in? Drawing Bart Simpson’s dick is not illegal in America. You could do it right now, in MS Paint, and e-mail it to the FBI, and they’d just formally tell you to go fuck yourself. Which would obviously not be the case with ACTUAL “child sexual abuse materials,” being evidence of abusing a flesh-and-blood child.

          • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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            I don’t think the OP ever said the bar was rape, the OP said the article and the person they responded to are treating drawn depictions of imaginary children the same as depictions of actual children. Those are not the same thing at all, yet many people seem to combine them (apparently including US law as of the Protect Act of 2003).

            Some areas make a distinction (e.g. Japan and Germany), whereas others don’t. Regardless of the legal status in your area, the two should be treated separately, even if that means both are banned.

            • balls_expert
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              “treating them the same” => The threshold for being refused entry into mainstream instances is just already crossed at the lolicon level.

              From the perspective of the fediverse, pictures of child rape and lolicon should just both get you thrown out. That doesn’t mean you’re “treating them the same”. You’re just a social network. There’s nothing you can do above defederating.

              • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                No, more like “treating them the same” => how the data is reported in the study. Whether they’re both against the TOS of the instance you’re on is a separate issue entirely, the problem is the data doesn’t separate the two categories.

                Look elsewhere ITT about that exact perspective. Even the US law (Protect Act of 2003) treats them largely the same (i.e. in the same sentence), and includes other taboo topics like bestiality, even if no actual animals are involved.

                It’s completely fine for neither to be allowed on a social network, what isn’t okay is for research to conflate the two. An instance inconsistently removing lolicon is a very different thing from an instance inconsistently removing actual CP, yet the article combines the two, likely to make it seem like a much worse problem than it is.

                • balls_expert
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                  1 year ago

                  That’s an arbitrary decision to make and doesn’t really need to be debated

                  The study is pretty transparent about what “CSAM” is under their definition and they even provide pictures, from a science communication point of view they’re in the clear

                  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                    And their definition kind of sucks. They’re basically saying it’s anything that SafeSearch or PhotoDNA flags, or something that has hashtag hits.

                    That said, there’s absolutely some terrible things on Mastodon, including grooming and trading. I’m interested to know what the numbers look like for lolicon and similar vs actual CP, which would give me a much better understanding of how bad the problem is. As in, are the things included in the report outliers, or typical of their sample set?

                    I guess I’m looking for a bit more granularity in the report.