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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Musk’s idea of ‘free speech’ worries analysts about future of Twitter
Thefederal | April 26, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Twitter declared on Monday (April 25) that it has accepted the Tesla CEO’s $44 billion offer to sell the micro blogging site.
With Elon Musk at the helm, it is believed that Twitter will undergo major structural and conceptual changes that suit the Tesla CEO’s ideas of free speech.
Currently, blocks users that post harassing, and abusive posts intended at causing physical harm to people. Musk calls himself a “free speech absolutist” and has been critical of what he calls “excessive moderation on online platforms”. It is widely believed that he will loosen up content rules in the name of free speech.
This sneaky phishing attack tries to steal your Facebook password
Zdnet | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook
A sneaky phishing campaign aims to steal passwords from Facebook users – including administrators of company Facebook Pages.
Detailed by cybersecurity researchers at Abnormal Security, the attack begins with a phishing email claiming to be from 'The Facebook Team', which warns that the user's account "might be disabled and your page might be removed" due to repeatedly posting content that has been reported as infringing the rights of another user. The victim is invited to appeal the report by clicking on a link that the security researchers said goes to a Facebook post – and within this post there's another link that directs users to a separate website in order to make their "appeal".
As part of the fake appeals process, the user is asked to provide sensitive information, including their name and email address. Before submitting the form, the user is also asked to enter their Facebook password.
Identifying and Removing Terrorist Content Online: Cross-Platform Solutions
Orfonline | April 26, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
When it comes to counterterrorism efforts, it is still the case that more needs to be done. While most efforts by various tech platforms go unseen by the public, advances have been made, and it is worth assessing the state-of-play to identify the next steps to stay ahead of the threat. This article discusses terrorism and violent extremism trends online, reviews some of the approaches being deployed by tech companies, and looks at cross-platform and multistakeholder solution-building. It pulls from research and insights from the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), member companies, and partnerships with Tech Against Terrorism and the Global Network on Extremism and Technology.
I posed as a 13-year-old to join the Metaverse – I met paedophiles, got rape threats & saw kid simulating sex with adult
Thesun | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
This lawless world is just a small taste of what the journalist experienced when she went undercover in the virtual reality network known as the Metaverse.
The Dispatches presenter was left “shocked and overwhelmed” after posing as both a 22-year-old and a 13-year-old to uncover the horrors of the VR chat rooms for the Channel 4 documentary, which airs tonight.
She was repeatedly asked to have virtual sex, with one man attempting to ram a bottle in her avatar’s mouth, and another boasting: “I like little girls from the age of 9 to 12 - it’s just my thing.”
Twitter bans climate change denial from advertising spaces
Openaccessgovernment | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Ads which promote climate change denial will be banned from the social media platform, but individual users won’t be affected by the change.
As of Friday, climate change denial advertising will no longer be allowed on Twitter under the inappropriate content policy.
The move comes as the EU votes through the Digital Markets Act. The legislation aims to regulate tech giants and gives Europe the power to fine 10% of their global profits if there are violations.
Fake Twitter accounts spread Chinese propaganda
Fox23 | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
BEIJING — (AP) — A U.S.-based intelligence company says it uncovered a network of more than 600 inauthentic Twitter accounts that spread a positive narrative of China's far-western Xinjiang region, as Beijing was being accused of human rights abuses and locking up hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities there.
According to a report released Monday by Nisos, 648 Twitter accounts posted several thousand tweets with hashtags such as #xinjiang, #forcedlabor and #humanrights, with seemingly innocuous content such as traditional dancing and scenic photos, as well as videos with individuals denying that forced labor exists in Xinjiang.
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
Twitter, Microsoft oppose Trudeau government policing social media
Theparadise | April 26, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter, Microsoft
Tech giants including Twitter, Pinterest and Microsoft have voiced their opposition to the Trudeau government’s Bill C-11, calling it a tactic of censorship and government overreach.
The companies’ submissions to Canadian Heritage’s “online harms” consultation were shared by University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, who posted them on his blog. Bill C-11 seeks to subject streaming and social media platforms to government regulations.
Twitter’s Elon Musk moment: A key point to watch would be the direction its content policies take
Financialexpress | April 26, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Twitter Inc is reportedly closing in on a deal to sell itself to Elon Musk for $43 billion in cash, the price that he originally offered to the social media company and called his ‘best and final’. The talks are a culmination of a huge drama that included Twitter coming up with a “poison pill” proposal—a plan to thwart Musk’s takeover bid through an offer of discounted shares to other shareholders. From a strictly business point of view, Twitter’s stubborn resistance didn’t make much sense as Musk’s offer was 54% higher than the share price when he started building his stake in the social media company in January this year.
Also, founded in 2006, two years after Facebook, Twitter has failed to keep pace with its rival. In spite of being used by the world’s most influential and powerful people, user growth and ad revenue are comparatively sluggish. Twitter’s stock price is up just 77% since listing nine years ago. Facebook parent Meta’s has increased four times as much. It is thus obvious that once Musk came up with a concrete financing proposal for his buyout bid, a large section of shareholders have been pushing the Twitter board to consider the maverick billionaire technopreneur's proposal.
How the Online Safety Bill can make the Internet safer for all
Information-age | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Martin Wilson, CEO of Digital Identity Net, discusses how the Online Safety Bill can help to make the Internet safer for all users.
The Online Safety Bill is a landmark piece of legislation designed to lay down in law a set of rules about how online platforms should behave to better protect their customers and users.
The Real Threat to Social Media Is Europe
Foreign Policy | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has caused fear and loathing among pundits and politicians wary of his vow to revert the platform to its position as “the free speech wing of the free speech party.” These fearful elites might seek solace in Europe, where Musk’s techno-utopian dreams of online free speech absolutism now face unprecedented obstacles. Whether they will recognize the dystopian aspects of Europe’s own technological culture is another question.
The European Union is in the midst of finalizing the Digital Services Act (DSA), an ambitious legislative attempt to create a “global gold standard” on platform regulation. After five trilogies, on April 23, the European Parliament and European Council reached a provisional political agreement on the DSA. Given the EU’s economic and political clout, the DSA may have a substantial impact beyond Europe through the so-called “Brussels Effect Brussels Effect.” As such, the DSA is likely to affect the practical exercise of free speech on social media platforms, whether located in Silicon Valley or owned by American tech billionaires.
T&S Good News
Some of the good news in the T&S industry that leaders want to know
How to protect yourself from online harassment
Washington Post | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
When pandemic stay-at-home orders took effect two years ago, Internet use skyrocketed worldwide. Millions of Americans suddenly relied on their phones and computers as lifelines to remote jobs, classes, now-distant family and friends, food and grocery deliveries, and a fire hose of news to understand the novel coronavirus.
As our lives largely moved online, so did unwelcome harassment. In a Pew Research Center survey released last year, Americans reported more severe encounters, such as physical threats, stalking, sustained harassment and sexual harassment, compared with pre-pandemic levels. Women, people of color and LGBTQ people are at particular risk for more extreme forms of online abuse, including sexual harassment, stalking and hate speech, according to the Pew poll and a report by GLAAD, a gay rights organization.
How to Activate Parental Controls on TikTok
Market Cheasier | April 25, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok
Video-sharing social media app TikTok is extremely popular with the younger crowd including teens and pre-teens. If you’re a parent who is worried about your child spending an ever-increasing amount of time on the social app, then you should know that TikTok includes a host of parental controls, as well as privacy settings meant to enable young users to use TikTok safely. In this article we’ll show you how you can set up parental controls for your child’s TikTok account.
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 Software Engineer Trust & Safety
Uber | San Francisco, CA, USA
Posted: April 26, 2022
PhD or equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or related field OR 3-years full-time Software Engineering work experience, WHICH INCLUDES 2-years total technical software engineering experience in one or more of the following areas:
Programming language (e.g. C, C++, Java, Python, or Go)
Note the 2-years total of specialized software engineering experience may have been gained through education and full-time work experience, additional training, coursework, research, or similar (ination of these)
The years of specialized experience are not necessarily in addition to the years of Education & full-time work experience indicated
Operations Manager, Trust & Safety
Tinder | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Posted: April 26, 2022
Minimum of 3-5+ years of working experience in program management while touching Trust & Safety
Experience working with global operations teams across numerous time zones in a fast-paced online/community support environment
Experience working with product and engineering teams
Experience working with and delivering policy/process improvements at scale
Experience influencing without authority
Experience comfortably presenting risk to senior management and a shown ability to communicate to executive leadership
High EQ and a passion for uniting people behind a common goal
Experience analyzing datasets and making decisions based on trends & data
Experience working with Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Excel, etc & crafting process flows
Product Safety Research Engineer
Apple Inc | Monte Vista, CA, USA
Posted: April 26, 2022
Build partnerships with engineers on various teams to understand code or APIs
Excellent analytical skills with the ability to make timely and sound decisions in a face-paced environment, able to deliver within established deadlines
Experience with asynchronous programming, manual memory management, and designing APIs for other teams
Ability to work with interdisciplinary teams to quickly prototype new insights and use creative approaches to solve sophisticated problems
Experience reviewing code and collaborating in the same codebase with engineers
Familiarity with topics relevant to product safety, for example: child safety or trauma-informed design
Education & Experience Bachelors and/or equivalent experience
Senior Site Policy (Safety & Cybercrime) Domain Specialist - Trust & Safety
Twitter | San Francisco, CA, USA
Posted: April 26, 2022
You are passionate about user safety and freedom of expression and have a deep understanding of global online safety and abuse matters
You are resilient and enjoy working independently
You have the ability to anticipate needs and develop and implement solutions, before others have to inform you of them
You are extremely detail-oriented and patient, with extraordinary communication skills
You are enthusiastic, adaptable, and can quickly translate feedback into action
Machine Learning Engineer, Trust and Safety ( remote
Tinder | United States
Posted: April 26, 2022
Experience with at least one popular machine learning framework
Preferably Supervised Learning using Deep Learning, and Anomaly Detection
Experience with modeling text, and photos data
Experience with Qualitative/Quantitative analytics at scale
Preferably using modern tools like Spark
BS/MS/Ph
D in Computer Science or related field
Proficiency in at least one popular programming language
Preferably Python
Working knowledge of AWS, Kubernetes, and Docker
1+ years of professional experience developing, and deploying ML models
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.