Shadowban/Shadow Banning
| Autor | Courtney Radsch |
| Páginas | 295-296 |
295
Shadowban/Shadow Banning
87 Shadowban/Shadow Banning
Courtney Radsch
‘Shadowban’ refers to a relatively common moderation practice
of lowering a user’s visibility, content or ability to interact without
them knowing it so that they can continue to use the platform
normally, but their content is not visible to anyone else. It can refer
to user-driven or platform-driven blocking, and its meaning has
expanded to include visibility in algorithmically determined platform
features. ‘Shadowbanning’ is often a response to toxic or undesirable
interaction related to a specific user. It can be observed by, and has
been attributed to, the real or perceived visibility of an account.
Shadowbans can be implemented by individuals or the tech platform
itself. Some tech platforms allow individual users to restrict the
visibility and engagement of other users with one’s own account, often
implemented as an anti-harassment tool. Instagram and Twitter allow
users to block other users without them knowing. In 2019, Instagram
launched (Grothaus, 2019) a restrict feature to enable its users to
block individuals without that user being notified or made aware.
Platform-instigated ‘shadowbans’ reduce the visibility of content
from the affected user both in terms of the posts themselves as well
as through algorithmic restrictions on amplification. For example, a
‘shadowbanned’ account may no longer appear in algorithmically
determined recommendations for content, in search terms or autofill
recommendations, or in a list of suggested accounts. ‘Shadowbans’ can
reduce search visibility or prevent an account from being indexed; or it
is only visible to that specific user. Users who are ‘shadowbanned’ can
continue using their accounts as usual. Accounts that are ‘shadowbanned’
typically appear to be functioning normally for the affected user, but its
content is undiscoverable, and it may be unable to engage in certain
ways. For example, on Reddit, the votes of shadowbanned accounts
do not count, while on Twitter their engagement will be visible only
to the user but not to the account holder or public.
The concept of restricting content from a user without their awareness
has a long history in internet culture as an approach for reducing or
deterring undesirable content or communication, such as spam, trolling,
or harassment. The approach as a moderation technique has been
around as long as there have been public discussion spaces, though
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