# Open Letter From the Mastodon Community  ## Metadata - Author: [[sunclipse.org]] - Full Title: Open Letter From the Mastodon Community - Category: #articles - URL: https://www.sunclipse.org/wp-content/downloads/2020/01/open-letter.html ## Highlights - Even though the distributed nature of Mastodon allows each instance adopts a specific terms of use and service, many instance [sic] are used to adopt the standard terms of service and privacy policy provided by the Mastodon developers.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnjs7p3w1re1h8r4mhavzmz2)) - Note: if a post is federated, which terms of service apply? - Moreover, the authors make no mention of de-anonymization, the practice of discovering the authorship of supposedly anonymous material. Simply put, content itself can reveal its creator's identity even after metadata has been removed. Distributing a dataset without regard for this possibility is highly irresponsible ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnjs94pdgaaw9dyajq2kevw7)) - The authors state that their dataset is stored in Europe and thus protected by the GDPR, with which they erroneously claim they have complied. However, Harvard Dataverse had made this dataset available through their own infrastructure. It is unclear if this complies with GDPR requirements. That notwithstanding, the ethical breaches and lack of consent as detailed above similarly preclude release of the data by Harvard Dataverse. We express our gratitude for the prompt deaccessioning of the dataset from the Harvard Dataverse repository. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gnjs9p450cb2thbfc0tkj2jm))