Toxic Ink on Immutable Paper: Content Moderation for Ethereum Input Data Messages (IDMs)

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2510.10761v1
• Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2025 19:02:57 GMT
• Title: Toxic Ink on Immutable Paper: Content Moderation for Ethereum Input Data Messages (IDMs)
• Authors: Xihan Xiong, Zhipeng Wang, Qin Wang, William Knottenbelt,
• Abstract summary: Decentralized communication is becoming an important use case within Web3.<n>As IDMs gain wider adoption, there has been a growing volume of toxic content on-chain.<n>We propose two moderation frameworks for IDMs: (i) BUILDERMOD, where builders perform semantic checks during block construction; and (ii) USERMOD, where users proactively obtain moderation from external classifiers and embed them in transactions.
• Score: 5.517460488736803
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Decentralized communication is becoming an important use case within Web3. On Ethereum, users can repurpose the transaction input data field to embed natural-language messages, commonly known as Input Data Messages (IDMs). However, as IDMs gain wider adoption, there has been a growing volume of toxic content on-chain. This trend is concerning, as Ethereum provides no protocol-level support for content moderation. We propose two moderation frameworks for Ethereum IDMs: (i) BUILDERMOD, where builders perform semantic checks during block construction; and (ii) USERMOD, where users proactively obtain moderation proofs from external classifiers and embed them in transactions. Our evaluation reveals that BUILDERMOD incurs high block-time overhead, which limits its practicality. In contrast, USERMOD enables lower-latency validation and scales more effectively, making it a more practical approach in moderation-aware Ethereum environments. Our study lays the groundwork for protocol-level content governance in decentralized systems, and we hope it contributes to the development of a decentralized communication environment that is safe, trustworthy, and socially responsible.

Related papers

• Talking Transactions: Decentralized Communication through Ethereum Input Data Messages (IDMs) [3.838621014068589]
  We focus on the input data field of transactions, which is designed to allow external callers to interact with smart contracts.<n>Users can leverage these Input Data Messages (IDMs) for peer-to-peer communication.<n>We present the first large-scale analysis of IDMs from the genesis block to February 2024 (3134 days)
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-05-30T15:47:13Z)
• Proof of Useful Intelligence (PoUI): Blockchain Consensus Beyond Energy Waste [1.3846014191157405]
  Technology enables secure, transparent data management in decentralized systems.<n>It supports applications from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to tokenizing real-world assets like property.<n>We propose Proof of Useful Intelligence (PoUI), a hybrid consensus mechanism.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-04-24T13:32:03Z)
• Trusted Compute Units: A Framework for Chained Verifiable Computations [41.94295877935867]
  This paper introduces the Trusted Compute Unit (TCU), a unifying framework that enables composable and interoperable computations across heterogeneous technologies.<n>By enabling secure off-chain interactions without incurring on-chain confirmation delays or gas fees, TCUs significantly improve system performance and scalability.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-04-22T09:01:55Z)
• Real AI Agents with Fake Memories: Fatal Context Manipulation Attacks on Web3 Agents [36.49717045080722]
  This paper investigates the vulnerabilities of AI agents within blockchain-based financial ecosystems when exposed to adversarial threats in real-world scenarios.<n>We introduce the concept of context manipulation -- a comprehensive attack vector that exploits unprotected context surfaces.<n>Using ElizaOS, we showcase that malicious injections into prompts or historical records can trigger unauthorized asset transfers and protocol violations.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-03-20T15:44:31Z)
• Decentralized Fair Exchange with Advertising [3.809025611530757]
  We give an explicit definition for such a fair exchange in a setting where parties communicate via broadcast messages only.<n>Next, we construct a fair-exchange protocol satisfying our new definition using zk-SNARKs and relying on mainstream decentralized platforms.<n> Experimental results confirm the practical relevance of our decentralized approach.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-03-13T14:35:32Z)
• OML: A Primitive for Reconciling Open Access with Owner Control in AI Model Distribution [35.68672391812135]
  We introduce OML, a primitive that enables a new distribution paradigm for AI models.<n>OML can be freely distributed for local execution while maintaining cryptographically enforced usage authorization.<n>This work opens a new research direction at the intersection of cryptography, machine learning, and mechanism design.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-11-01T18:46:03Z)
• How Decentralization Affects User Agency on Social Platforms [0.0]
  We investigate how decentralization might present promise as an alternative model to walled garden platforms. We describe the user-driven content moderation through blocks as an expression of agency on Bluesky, a decentralized social platform.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-06-13T12:15:15Z)
• Remeasuring the Arbitrage and Sandwich Attacks of Maximal Extractable Value in Ethereum [7.381773144616746]
  Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) drives the prosperity of the blockchain ecosystem. We propose a profitability identification algorithm to identify MEV activities on our collected largest-ever dataset. We have characterized the overall landscape of the MEV ecosystem, the impact the private transaction architectures bring in, and the adoption of back-running mechanisms.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-05-28T08:17:15Z)
• IT Strategic alignment in the decentralized finance (DeFi): CBDC and digital currencies [49.1574468325115]
  Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a disruptive-based financial infrastructure. This paper seeks to answer two main questions 1) What are the common IT elements in the DeFi? And 2) How the elements to the IT strategic alignment in DeFi?
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-05-17T10:19:20Z)
• Flashback: Enhancing Proposer-Builder Design with Future-Block Auctions in Proof-of-Stake Ethereum [27.386337024680245]
  Auction mechanisms used between searchers, builders and proposers are crucial to the overall health of the blockchain. In this paper, we consider PBS design in as a game between searchers, builders and proposers. A key novelty in our design is the inclusion of future block proposers, as all proposers of an epoch are decided ahead of time in proof-of-stake (PoS) Our analysis shows the existence of alternative auction mechanisms that result in a better equilibrium to players compared to state-of-the-art.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-05-15T15:58:21Z)
• Blockchains for Internet of Things: Fundamentals, Applications, and Challenges [38.29453164670072]
  Not every blockchain system is suitable for specific IoT applications. Public blockchains are not suitable for storing sensitive data. We explore the blockchain's application in three pivotal IoT areas: edge AI, communications, and healthcare.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-05-08T04:25:57Z)
• FairFlow Protocol: Equitable Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) mitigation in Ethereum [0.0]
  This paper introduces the FairFlow protocol, a novel framework designed to mitigate the effects of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) The protocol aims to provide a more equitable environment, preventing exploitation by miners or validators, and protecting user data.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-12-19T22:53:59Z)
• BERT4ETH: A Pre-trained Transformer for Ethereum Fraud Detection [29.518411879700263]
  BERT4ETH is a pre-trained Transformer account representation extractor for detecting various fraud behaviors. BERT4ETH features the superior modeling capability of Transformer to capture the dynamic sequential patterns inherent in transactions. Our empirical evaluation demonstrates that BERT4ETH outperforms state-of-the-art methods with significant enhancements in terms of the phishing account detection and de-anonymization tasks.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-03-29T20:30:52Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.