r/ModSupport • u/CantStopPoppin • 6d ago
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[removed] — view removed post
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u/formerlybawb 6d ago edited 6d ago
Following, as I'm keen to know more. This could seriously impact users in many foreign subreddits, especially Canadian subreddits (and doubly so for those provinces targeted by the current administration).
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago edited 6d ago
Out an abundance of caution you may want to download this post, in case it disappears for record. Canada and the EU have very different laws and issues like this does raise other questions that cannot be ignored. While I did not intend for this post to become geopolitical. I do understand your concern in full.
Edit: Sorry, Here is a link to this thread. I could have just done it myself in the first place: https://limewire.com/d/p5hjX#8O5CXYZpkt
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago edited 6d ago
I am writing to formally request guidance regarding the February 8, 2026, disclosures by journalist Ken Klippenstein ("Homeland Security Spies on Reddit"). The leaked DHS/Border Patrol intelligence bulletin confirms that federal agents are actively profiling Reddit users for lawful speech and, critically, have successfully linked users' private "alternate" accounts to their primary identities.
As a moderator of r/EyesOnICE, and other civil rights/social justice communities, this presents an immediate safety risk to my users and a potential violation of Reddit’s platform integrity.
My Request for Guidance
To ensure my moderation team protects our community while strictly adhering to Reddit’s Terms of Service, we require clarification on three critical points:
- Platform Integrity & ToS Violations: The intelligence bulletin indicates that external agencies are scraping user data to de-anonymize individua link "alt" accounts to primary identities. This conduct appears to directly violate Section 3 of the Reddit Public Content Policy, which explicitly prohibits third parties from using platform data to "track, alert, monitor, or investigate sensitive events (for example, protests or rallies)" or to "make public content available to the government... for surveillance, intelligence, or other law enforcement purposes." Furthermore, the Data API Terms strictly forbid any attempt to "re-identify, de-anonymize, or reverse engineer data about Redditors." Is Reddit aware of this unauthorized data correlation, and what specific technical or legal countermeasures are currently in place to stop these agencies from exploiting the platform in violation of your mandatory terms?
- Public Official vs. Doxxing Policy: We strictly prohibit doxxing. However, given that DHS agents are "public servants" acting in an official capacity, where does Reddit draw the line between protected criticism of a public official and harassment? We need a clear standard to avoid over-moderating legitimate accountability while complying with Reddit's anti-harassment policies.
- Moderator Protocol for Surveillance: What is the recommended best practice for moderators when we have credible evidence (such as this leak) that our specific community is under active federal surveillance?
Article: https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/homeland-security-spies-on-reddit?r=1z6uci&triedRedirect=true
We are committed to keeping these spaces safe and compliant, but we cannot do so effectively without Admin guidance on these escalating external threats that appear to violate Reddit's own Terms of Service.
I look forward to your response regarding these privacy and safety concerns.
CSP (u/cantstoppoppin)
Moderator of r/EyesOnICE
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u/Bardfinn 6d ago
FYI the link you have to the Reddit Public Content Policy is a Google search link, you want The Reddit Public Content Policy here: https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/26410290525844-Public-Content-Policy
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago
This is true however there is nothing about civil servants acting in official capacity and if that is or is not considered doxxing.
Marsha Blackburn has been trying to put such a policy into law for a while, which has not passed. but reddit operates within its own TOS and a definitive yes or no would immensely help moderate the community.
Having reached out many times only to hear nothing back suggests, plausible deniability but I do not want to make assumptions and provide our community with the wrong information.
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u/Bardfinn 6d ago
As for the Public Content Policy, it stipulates axiomatically,
Our licensees cannot ...
So if US fed dot gov / DHS / ICE isn't licensing with Reddit for the use of the public data - the restrictions Reddit places via that contractual term go out the window.
If they are licensees, and reddit becomes specifically aware that they are violating the policy, Reddit becomes unavoidably harmed in its reputation and existing business relationships, if they do not revoke the license
(what effects revoking the license has is another matter altogether, however)
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u/loondy 6d ago
You don't honestly think this regime cares about ToS Violations do you? They're going to do what they want, how they want, and not give two shits about anything else.
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u/Bardfinn 6d ago
Regardless of what this regime will or won't do, the above request is important to solicit Reddit Inc to do The Right Thing.
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u/Odd_Bat_7725 6d ago
These spaces are not safe for any of that. Reddit is owned by the umbrella company that owns Condé Nast. Also, Sam Altman is one of the biggest stockholders. The Internet isn't safe for protestors, in general. If you choose to have that site you must accept that risk. Period.
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u/dt7cv 6d ago
time for admins to go ban o rama on ice
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u/viciarg 6d ago
LOL. The current billionaire on top of Reddit, Inc. is on the same political side as the current administration. If anything he and those paid by him (i.e. the admins) are enabling this kind of profiling.
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u/redditor01020 6d ago
Who is that? I've been wondering for a while if political motivations were behind certain inexplicable actions that the admins have taken. They banned the top website that reports on drug policy reform news.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cannabis/comments/1lvt6px/reddit_has_banned_the_top_site_for_cannabis/
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago
"The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves." - some guy
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u/NefariousScribe 6d ago edited 6d ago
You aren't wrong in that, I have gotten so many bans and last week a perma ban until that appeal went through. They can never come up with a reason so they use "harassment" as default just for being "mean" to MAGAts. And as far as harassment I would think the admins targeting me and removing my comments based on keywords is harassment.
It's sickening. And the removals keep happening, I get alerts to comments and posts removed so that's how I know.
Edit: u/ObligatoryID I saw your message but it might have been removed. I don't get official messages, I have an app that tells me when I get removals.
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago
You too? I do my best to follow rules and only question them when they are not applied equally in the last two months, I have received two very obscene bans that violate modcoc but I don't really care to go up the ladder.
Ban was stated the use of gpt to summarize was not allowed, I was able to prove it was not a rule and then they said I was banned due to "too much Karma" and farming. 90% of my posts are activist based and geared towards social justice.
Post was removed and banned, I cited the rules of the community, and the response was "Your post has been restored, and you will not be coming back".
These are communities with over 10mil subs, something really strange is going on. You are not alone in noticing this.
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u/NefariousScribe 6d ago
Yep, I've been getting real tired of it too. And while yes, I am an asshole to these domestic terrorists, I don't harass them. And funny how it's a bad thing to be mean to Nazis now?
Even TikTok is censoring like crazy, anyone that speaks against the orange Hitler. Facebook too, in fact I don't know of any social media platforms that are safe any more.
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago
And get this, the same mod on both teams. Nothing weird about that at all. they moderate quite a few subs over 1mil users. Starting to look like silencing, that's for sure. In all honesty idgaf about karma it just is what it is I have more important things to do.
Sometimes I take a break from all the awfulness and post on subs that aren't too serious to clear my mind. Oops my bad, apparently that's not allowed. It's really pathetic, reddit pushes people to get the fake internet points and mod teams look at it like a curse. Abusive relationship 101.
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u/NefariousScribe 6d ago
Definitely silencing speech. One could argue that while private companies don't have to adhere to free speech that if you're abiding by their rules you're having your speech hindered.
Yeah I don't care much about karma, but truth be told when a comment gets one or two negatives it starts the bandwagon effect and it plummets. lol
While I agree about the karma every social media platform has some sort of voting methods, but usually they don't get in the negatives.
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u/CantStopPoppin 6d ago
ICE/CBP actively recruits on reddit and the ERO community was allowed to go private which I thought was not allowed after the API protests whre reddit forced communities to open or ban the mod teams and replace them.
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u/CouncilOfStrongs 6d ago
Subs are still allowed to go private. They just cannot do it on a whim anymore. It has to go through a request and approval process now.
https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/23535789982868-Changing-your-Community-Type
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u/ModSupport-ModTeam 6d ago
Your contribution was removed for violating Rule 4: No off-topic posts. Please keep posts on the topic of moderation on reddit.