Content scanning
Every image and video uploaded to a PDS we host is checked against lists of known child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This applies to every PDS on peedee.es, including yours, and it can't be switched off.
Why we do this
A PDS stores the media its accounts upload, and it keeps serving those files to anyone who asks for them. Nothing in the standard PDS software checks what gets uploaded, and a label or a takedown elsewhere in the network (for example by Bluesky or a labeler) doesn't remove the file from the PDS that holds it.
As the host of that storage, we're responsible for what's on our infrastructure, so we check it ourselves rather than leaving it to chance.
How it works
- New uploads are checked in the background, usually within minutes of being uploaded. Posting isn't slowed down or blocked while this happens.
- Files are checked through Arachnid Shield, a service run by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection that compares a file against its database of known material. Nothing is judged by what a picture "looks like": only matches with material that's already known count.
- Almost every file matches nothing. For those, all we keep is a record that the file was checked.
What happens on a match
- Known child sexual abuse material is quarantined straight away: your PDS stops serving the file, and it's set aside rather than deleted. Our team is alerted and follows up, which includes reporting it to the authorities as the law requires.
- Other known harmful or abusive material is looked at by a member of our team first, and only quarantined if they decide it should be.
When we quarantine a file on your PDS, you get a notification, and the file shows as quarantined under the account's blobs (Accounts, open the account, View blobs). For your protection and everyone else's, a quarantined file can't be viewed or downloaded from your dashboard, and only we can release it.
If you think we got it wrong
Contact us at legal@peedee.es with the account and the file's identifier (shown on the blob's page). We'll review the decision and tell you the outcome.
Your own moderation
Scanning only catches material that is already known. It doesn't replace your own moderation: you can still quarantine files yourself from an account's blobs, act on labels, and take down or delete accounts from the Accounts tab.
Privacy
For this scanning we act as the controller of the data, separately from our role as your processor. The details, including what we keep and for how long, are in our Privacy Policy, our Terms of Service and the Data Processing Agreement.