Data Ethics in the Fediverse: Analyzing the Role of Instance Policies in Mastodon Research

TL;DR

This paper examines how Mastodon instances' policies impact research practices, revealing a gap between stated policies and actual data collection behaviors, and emphasizes the need for ethical guidelines in decentralized social media research.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analysis of research practices on Mastodon, highlighting the disconnect between instance policies and actual data collection, and calls for ethical discussions.

Findings

Limited adherence to instance policies despite awareness

Researchers often collect data contrary to policies

Need for ethical guidelines in decentralized social media research

Abstract

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.