Post by @iftas@mastodon.iftas.org

OUT NOW: 2026 Social Web Operations & Needs Assessment Report!

We surveyed operators hosting 6M ActivityPub accounts (~32% of the network).

Key takeaways:
- Overall growth in usage, creating pressure on operators
- Communities face surging botnets & regulatory pressure
- Shift toward third-party admin and moderation tooling

Read the full report & help safeguard the open social web:

https://about.iftas.org/2026/10/15/2026-social-web-operations-report/

#FediAdmins #FediMods #TrustAndSafety #MastoAdmin #Moderation

#fedimods #fediadmins #trustandsafety #moderation #mastoadmin

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IFTAS

@iftas@mastodon.iftas.org 6 days ago

The Human Story - Staffing & Burnout

- Volunteer operators are stretched thin
- Coverage dropped to 1 moderator per 8,700 active accounts (down from 1:3,500 in 2025)
- 75% of instances have <16 hrs of daily moderation coverage; only 6.8% offer 24/7
- Newcomer moderators plummeted from 34% (2023) to 7% (2026)
- 41% report burnout or feeling close to it.

We need sustainable peer-support models to protect volunteer well-being

A chart titled "Individual Experience: Personal Well-being" detailing responses to the question: "Have you personally experienced burnout or mental health challenges due to your community responsibilities in the past 12 months?"
Unimpacted: 59.2%
Felt close to burnout: 27.2%
Experienced in past year: 8.8%
Currently experiencing: 4.8% (dark red) — A chart titled "Individual Experience: Personal Well-being" detailing responses to the question: "Have you personally experienced burnout or mental health challenges due to your community responsibilities in the past 12 months?" Unimpacted: 59.2% Felt close to burnout: 27.2% Experienced in past year: 8.8% Currently experiencing: 4.8% (dark red)

IFTAS

@iftas@mastodon.iftas.org 6 days ago

Threat Vectors & Priority Needs

What are communities fighting vs. what do they need?

- #Spam is the #1 daily operational drain. #Disinformation detection jumped from #7 to #2 in tooling needs due to synthetic media concerns & elections
- Legal Burden: "Template legalese" (ToS/Privacy) jumped 5 spots to become the #1 most requested resource, as operators face expanding rules like GDPR, UK OSA, and age verification laws.

2 media files

A table graphic titled "Trust & Safety Resource Needs Assessment" showing a stack-ranked list of participant needs compared to the previous year: 1. Template legalese (ToS, privacy policy etc) (Up from #6) 2. Regulatory guidance (GDPR, OSA etc) (Down from #1) 3. Moderation Playbooks & Best Practices (Down from #2) 4. Shared denylists / allowlists / blocklists (Down from #3) 5. Template community code of conduct (Down from #4) 6. Help responding to content takedowns, law enforcement, legal notices (Down from #5) 7. Moderator training courses (Unchanged from #7) 8. Moderator wellbeing resources (Unchanged from #8) 9. Help with business formation (Up from #10) 10. Resources in languages other than English (Down from #9)

A table titled "Trust & Safety Tools and Services Needs Assessment" showing a ranked list of tooling and service priorities compared to the previous year: 1. Spam detection (Unchanged from #1) 2. Disinformation detection (Up from #7) 3. CSAM detection (Down from #2) 4. Toxic / spam IP & Email Domain data (Down from #3) 5. Phishing and malware detection (Unchanged from #5) 6. Hate speech detection (Down from #4) 7. Non-consensual intimate image detection (Down from #6) 8. Personal digital safety tools (Unchanged from #8) 9. Registered agent / point of contact service (Up from #10) 10. Terroristic and violent extremism detection (Down from #9)

IFTAS

@iftas@mastodon.iftas.org 6 days ago

Legal Risks & Financial Realities

- High legal exposure, zero safety net
- 65.5% of reporting services operate at a net monthly loss, relying on personal out-of-pocket funds or voluntary tips
- 16.5% have faced formal legal notices (DMCA, privacy requests, law enforcement), yet nearly 80% have no insurance coverage
- 33.5% of servers are in Germany, forcing non-EU admins to navigate EU legal requirements.

A chart titled "Formal Legal Notices and Interactions Received" detailing whether services have received formal legal notices (e.g., DMCA takedowns, police demands, subpoenas, or cease-and-desist letters):
No: 76.5%
Yes: 16.5%
Don't know: 7.1% — A chart titled "Formal Legal Notices and Interactions Received" detailing whether services have received formal legal notices (e.g., DMCA takedowns, police demands, subpoenas, or cease-and-desist letters): No: 76.5% Yes: 16.5% Don't know: 7.1%

IFTAS

@iftas@mastodon.iftas.org 6 days ago

Looking to 2027:

- 67% want peer access delegation to fill coverage gaps
- 60% want delegated anti-bot defense
- Platforms are adopting a community/groups focus
- Third-party/plugin tooling coming online

IFTAS remains an opt-in safety net, respecting instance autonomy. Help sustain our work:

💙 https://about.iftas.org/donate

IFTAS

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