Summary

Request for Fedora Council to provide legal support, strategic guidance, and resources to address the escalating issue of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) attacks on Fedora's Matrix communication platforms and to support our community moderators.

Background

Fedora's Matrix channels have been subjected to increasing waves of malicious attacks involving the posting of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). This content, which inherently depicts the abuse of minors, is graphically disturbing and psychologically harmful. These attacks, often originating from external, untrusted federated Matrix servers, create a hostile environment, place a significant emotional and operational burden on our volunteer Matrix moderators, and have resulted in CSAM being viewed by community members, including a minor using an independent Matrix account. Current reactive measures are insufficient to manage this escalating problem, which now occurs on a near-daily basis, necessitating a more comprehensive and supported strategy.

Details

To effectively address this critical issue, I request the Fedora Council to undertake the following actions:

1. Facilitate Legal Consultation: Initiate and support consultation with Red Hat Legal, and potentially other external legal specialists, to:

   • Clarify Fedora's legal obligations regarding CSAM encountered on its platforms (e.g., reporting, data handling, content removal), particularly considering the complexities of federated systems and potential future self-hosting of more Matrix infrastructure components.
   • Provide guidance on developing legally sound Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) and incident response protocols for CSAM.

2. Secure HR and Well-being Support Guidance: Facilitate consultation with Human Resources experts or similar specialists to identify and recommend resources or strategies for providing psychological support, counseling, and well-being programs for volunteer moderators exposed to CSAM.

3. Empower and Support the Fedora Matrix Working Group:

   • Formally recognize and task the Fedora Matrix Working Group (a sub-team of the Community Operations team) with leading the development and implementation of a comprehensive CSAM incident response plan.
   • Request the Matrix Working Group to nominate a dedicated liaison to the Fedora Council for ongoing communication and coordination on this issue.
   • Consider sponsoring this work as a Fedora Community Initiative to provide structure, visibility, and appropriate resourcing.

4. Explore Resource Allocation: Investigate and identify options for allocating Fedora Project funds or resources towards:

   • Acquiring or developing enhanced moderation tools suitable for detecting and managing CSAM in a federated environment.
   • Providing specialized training for volunteer moderators on handling CSAM, operational security, and self-care.
   • Supporting other necessary measures identified by the Matrix Working Group and legal advisors.

5. Foster a Collaborative Approach:

   • Support the Matrix Working Group in addressing this as a collaborative challenge, recognizing that Fedora is not alone and that other open source communities and the Matrix Foundation are also working on these issues.
   • Encourage the sharing of learnings and best practices with the wider open source ecosystem where appropriate.

This effort should aim to address both the immediate, critical need to scale and improve our CSAM moderation capabilities and the long-term need to establish sustainable systems for community protection. It is important to note that currently, the CSAM encountered is understood to be hosted on external federated servers, not Fedora Project infrastructure. However, proactive legal guidance is crucial as we plan the future of our Matrix platform.

Outcome

A comprehensive, legally sound, and sustainable framework is established to protect the Fedora Project community from CSAM, effectively support our volunteer moderators, and help ensure Fedora's communication platforms are safer and more welcoming for all users.