Mastodon Bans AI Data Scraping, Raises User Age Limit to 16

Mastodon, a decentralized social network, has updated its terms of service to prohibit the use of its user data for training AI models. This move comes in the wake of similar updates by other platforms, including those owned by Elon Musk, which have also tightened their rules to prevent unauthorized data scraping for AI training purposes.

In an email sent to users, Mastodon explicitly stated that it prohibits the unauthorized extraction of user data for purposes such as archiving or training large language models (LLMs). The new terms, which will take effect on July 1, 2024, include legal provisions that ban any form of data extraction and the development of automated systems. The updated terms specify that the use, initiation, development, or distribution of any automated system, including but not limited to spiders, bots, cheat tools, crawlers, offline readers, or any data mining and similar data collection tools, is prohibited unless it is a standard search engine or local cache of an internet browser used for manual viewing and interaction with content on the instance.

It is important to note that these terms only apply to the Mastodon.social server, which is just one instance within the fediverse, a distributed network. This means that if other servers do not explicitly prohibit such activities in their terms of service, crawlers may still extract data from these servers for AI model training. Other platforms, such as OpenAI, Reddit, and The Browser Company, have also added similar clauses to their rules to prevent unauthorized model training.

In addition to these changes, Mastodon has implemented a new age restriction for users, raising the minimum age from 13 to 16 years old globally. This adjustment comes as part of the platform's efforts to enhance user privacy and security.

This update by Mastodon reflects a broader trend among social networks to strengthen their terms of service in response to the increasing use of AI and the potential misuse of user data. By prohibiting the unauthorized extraction of user data for AI training, Mastodon aims to protect its users' privacy and ensure that their data is used responsibly. The new age restriction further underscores the platform's commitment to user safety and compliance with global regulations.