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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Instagram under fire over sexualised child images
The Guardian | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Instagram, Facebook
Instagram is failing to remove accounts that attract hundreds of sexualised comments for posting pictures of children in swimwear or partial clothing, even after they are flagged to it through the in-app reporting tool.
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, claims it takes a zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation. But accounts that have been flagged as suspicious through the in-app reporting tool have been ruled acceptable by its automated moderation technology and remain live.
Child abuse, violence, assault: Doesn’t Facebook care about its content moderators?
Independent | April 15, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook
Recent revelations have laid bare Facebook’s continued neglect of contract content moderators around the world. As the Online Safety Bill and other legislation is enacted, we are calling on lawmakers all over to seize this golden opportunity and set minimum standards for how social media companies moderate harmful content, in a way that respects and upholds their workers’ rights.
In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg’s company turned to Sama, a US-based subcontractor, to be its primary content moderation partner across Africa. Sama primarily supports data services for Fortune 50 companies, but heavily promotes its social mission of lifting marginalized people out of poverty by giving “dignified” work. But in reality, reporters discovered, Sama was using these workers to sift through thousands of hours of murders, rapes, suicides, child sexual abuse, and other graphic content, without reasonable pay, training or emotional support.
How to stop Spotify sharing your personal data
Knowtechie | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Spotify
When you consider companies that harvest user data for profit, free-to-use services, such as Google and Facebook, may come to mind. But even paid services, like Spotify Premium, collect and sell your data.
Collecting user data can be highly profitable, and even some pay-to-use services can’t resist the urge to share our personal information with advertisers and other interested parties.
The music streaming platform seems content to capture whatever user data it can to ostensibly conduct research, improve products, and target ads. While these reasons are fair, they connect to a larger goal: to make money.
T&S Policies & Regulations
Regulatory news and policy decisions impacting the T&S ecosystem.
Compare and review T&S Policies for dozens of companies here
Why Researchers Want Broader Access to Social Media Data
Undark | April 18, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
WITHIN DAYS of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, several social media companies took steps to reduce the circulation of Russian state-backed media and anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Meta (formerly Facebook), for example, said it took down about 40 accounts, part of a larger network that had already spread across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, and Russian social media. The accounts used fake personas, replete with profile pictures likely generated with artificial intelligence, posing as news editors, engineers, and scientists in Kyiv. The people behind the network also created phony news websites that portrayed Ukraine as a failed state betrayed by the West.
Disinformation campaigns have become pervasive in the vast realm of social media. Will technology companies’ recent efforts to combat propaganda be effective? Because outsiders are not privy to most of the inner workings of the handful of companies that run the digital world — the details of where information originates, how it spreads, and how it affects the real world — it’s hard to know.
Saudi Arabia to continue blocking calls on apps not cooperating with regulations: Minister
Arabnews | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Saudi Arabia will continue blocking call facilities on apps that do not comply with regulatory and safety protocols in the country, according to Abdullah Al-Swaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
In a televised interview, the minister made it clear that no one will be allowed to cross what he sees as a red line, which guards the nation's security and sovereignty.
The minister noted that maintaining the confidentiality of customers’ data has emerged as a global challenge, due to the fact that people used to share sensitive data with social media platforms negligently.
How Should India Regulate Online Gaming?
Medianama | April 18, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
The focus should move away from prohibitions and punitive measures. This approach to regulation would serve the interests and put greater power in the hands of different stakeholders,” Meta’s Public Policy Director Sunil Abraham said during a panel discussion on a model framework for regulating India’s online gaming sector, organised by the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF).
Abraham was joined by Sarika Aggarwal Synrem, Commissioner & Secretary, Government of Meghalaya; and Dr. Subi Chaturvedi, Chief Corporate Affairs and Public Policy, Inmobi; in a discussion moderated by Gowree Gokhale, Partner, Nishit Desai Associates.
New disinformation law will be soon announced, Turkish official says
Dailysabah | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
The new disinformation law to protect public order, personal rights and freedoms will soon be shared with the public, with work on the draft still ongoing, Chair of the Digital Platforms Commission in Parliament and Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) Hatay deputy Hüseyin Yayman said Saturday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Yayman underlined that digital networks are not only high on the agenda of Turkey but also the world.
Giving the example of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, Yayman said: "A period called the era of hybrid wars has started. For example, the massacre in Bucha: The Russian side says, 'Ukrainians did this,' the Ukrainian side says, 'Russians did this.' In fact, we clearly see that disinformation is being used even in war. Our concern is to eliminate or minimize this disinformation, fake news, both in daily life, in public order, in social life and in the state-citizen relationship."
New internet laws return to Parliament for second reading this week
Tdpelmedia | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Parliamentarians will debate the government’s groundbreaking Online Safety Bill which requires social media platforms, search engines and other apps and websites allowing people to post content to improve the way they protect their users.
Ofcom, the regulator, will have the power to fine companies failing to comply with the laws up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover, force them to improve their practices and block non-compliant sites. Crucially, the laws have strong measures to safeguard children from harmful content such as pornography and child sexual abuse.
Law ‘leaves children open to abuse on livestreams’
Thetimes | April 18, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
A loophole in the Online safety bill would let predators use livestreams to abuse children, victims have warned despite ministers claiming that the proposed law will leave no hiding place for criminals.
Nadine Dorries, the digital secretary, said the legislation would “make the UK the safest place to surf the web”. MPs begin debating the bill this week.
T&S Good News
Some of the good news in the T&S industry that leaders want to know
WhatsApp Is Letting You Adjust Privacy Settings For Specific Contacts
Lowyat | April 17, 2022
Company Listed: WhatsApp
WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature for beta users that lets them adjust certain privacy settings for specific contacts. The settings can also be fine-tuned further to cover other users such as profile photo, “About” section, and “Last Seen” status.
At the moment, these settings only allow you to display them to either everyone, your contacts, or absolutely nobody. The new feature enhances the privacy setting so you can choose to let your contacts have access to these sections of your WhatsApp account but still blacklist certain people.
T&S Careers & Jobs
T&S jobs posted recently, often within the last 24 hours, looking for top talent.
Check out all the recent T&S job postings here.
Sr. Global Leader - Risk and Response, AWS Trust & Safety
Amazon | Washington, DC, USA
Posted: April 18, 2022
Drive high-impact and highly cross-functional initiatives while simultaneously tracking a set of smaller projects
Demonstrated strong project management skills — driving goal setting and efficient
Enforcement Detection Analyst, Trust and Safety
YouTube | San Bruno, CA, USA
Posted: April 17, 2022
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
2 years of analytical work experience
Experience with machine learning, programming (e.g., Python, Java), database querying (e.g., SQL), and statistics
Experience with creating metrics to measure performance of models, building dashboards, and reporting
Analytics Program Manager, Trust and Safety
YouTube | San Bruno, CA, USA
Posted: April 18, 2022
3 years of program management experience
Experience in project management, relationship building, and stakeholder management with cross-functional teams
Experience working with SQL
MBA.
Excellent organizational and project management skills.
Excellent project-management and communication skills with a high attention to detail.
Senior Quality Manager, US Trust & Safety-Los Angeles, CA
TikTok | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Posted: April 18, 2022
Minimum BA/BS degree in Business, Statistics, or relevant field and/or 5-6 years of relevant experience
3-4 years in Content Quality, TnS Operations, or similar industry
3+ years managing FTEs and working with BPOs
Strong analytical skills with the ability to perform complex data analysis to derive key insights
Able to speak to data with excellent communication skills
Experience working cross-functionally with external and internal teams
A willingness to dedicate by show of strong ownership and putting business needs first
Ability to lead effectively, prioritize projects, and ensure the delivery of high quality work under time constraints
Senior Proactive Trust & Safety Operations Specialist
Snap Inc. | Seattle, WA, USA
Posted: April 18, 2022
Comfort working within a content moderation environment
Ability to problem solve, both independently and with peers, and to structure ambiguous business challenges into actionable plans
Background working effectively with cross-functional teams and management
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and ability to communicate effectively and appropriately within all levels of the organization
Ability to prioritize, focus and thrive in a dynamic work environment, and to adapt to evolving business needs
Process driven individual with a proven track record of developing and implementing new processes and identifying opportunities to improve or build on existing processes
Great judgment and excellent leadership skills
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
3+ years of experience working in technology, safety, or a related field
Flexible work-hours: full-time and weekends as needed
T&S FAQs
What is T&S?
Great question (and one the industry hasn’t fully agreed upon). Think of Trust & Safety as the organization that protects social media and Big Tech companies and users from online abuse. As long as users are able to generate content online, time has told us that a minority of these users will create content that is offensive, scandalous, fraudulent, disingenuous, misinformative, hateful, spiteful, and harmful. T&S fights this with flexible policies, resilient operations, and informed detections.
Is T&S interesting?
That depends. If you enjoy stopping bad actors and keeping good people safe, then you’ll love T&S. It requires understanding new technologies and staying on top of breaking issues across society and the world. It also pays Big Tech salaries (no coding skills required).
How do you get into T&S?
That’s the tricky part. The short answer is: not easily. Most T&S orgs are part of Big Tech and (as a result) pay extremely well, so jobs are highly competitive. If you don’t know someone in the industry who can help refer you in, then you can learn more about T&S policies, current events, issues, regulations, and jobs at trustsafetyinstitute.com to improve your hiring chances and start doing meaningful work that helps people.