Early Warning | Policy & Regulations | Good News | Jobs & Careers | T&S FAQs
Subscribe to the newsletter here
T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Online privacy in a post-Roe world
Las Angels Times | August 11, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
The case of a Nebraska woman charged with helping her teenage daughter end her pregnancy after investigators obtained Facebook messages between the two has raised fresh concerns about data privacy in the post-Roe world.
Since before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in June, Big Tech companies that collect personal details of their users have faced new calls to limit that tracking and surveillance amid fears that law enforcement or vigilantes could use those data troves against people seeking abortions or those who try to help them.
LinkedIn Profiles Indicate 300 Current TikTok And ByteDance Employees Used To Work For Chinese State Media—And Some Still Do
Forbes | August 11, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok, LinkedIn
Three hundred current employees at TikTok and its parent company ByteDance previously worked for Chinese state media publications, according to public employee LinkedIn profiles reviewed by Forbes.
Twenty-three of these profiles appear to have been created by current ByteDance directors, who manage departments overseeing content partnerships, public affairs, corporate social responsibility and “media cooperation.
Australian court orders Google to pay $43 mln for misleading users
Reuters | August 12, 2022
Company Listed: Google
Australia's competition watchdog said on Friday that Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google unit was ordered by the country's Federal Court to pay A$60 million ($42.7 million) in penalties for misleading users on collection of their personal location data.
The court found Google misled some customers about personal location data collected through their Android mobile devices between January 2017 and December 2018.
Twitter plan to fight midterm misinformation falls short, voting rights experts say
Reuters | August 12, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) on Thursday set out a plan to combat the spread of election misinformation that revives previous strategies, but civil and voting rights experts said it would fall short of what is needed to prepare for the upcoming U.S. midterm elections.
The social media company said it will apply its civic integrity policy, introduced in 2018, to the Nov. 8 midterms, when numerous U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seats will be up for election. The policy relies on labeling or removing posts with misleading content, focused on messages intended to stop voting or claims intended to undermine public confidence in an election.
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
TikTok’s New ‘About This Ad’ Tool Gives Users Insight On How Their Data Is Being Used For Ad Targeting
Digital Information World | August 11, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok
The topic of targeted advertising seems to be on so many people’s minds these days and leading digital platforms are no exception.
First, we saw Apple turn the world upside down when it announced its new in-app ad tracking transparency tool that enables users to provide consent if they wish to be tracked.
Instagram faces big EU privacy decision on kids’ data within weeks
Tech Crunch | August 11, 2022
Company Listed: Instagram
A final decision on a complaint against Instagram’s handling of children’s data in the European Union is set to land within weeks, TechCrunch has learned, following the completion of a procedural mechanism to resolve regulatory disputes over how to enforce the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The enquiry about Instagram’s handling of kids’ data was opened by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta’s lead data supervisor in the EU, back in September 2020.
Federal Trade Commission looking at rules to corral Big Tech firms' data collection
The Hindu | August 12, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook
Whether it's the fitness tracker on your wrist, the “smart” home appliances in your house or the latest kids’ fad going viral in online videos, they all produce a trove of personal data for big tech companies.
How that data is being used and protected has led to growing public concern and officials’ outrage. And now federal regulators are looking at drafting rules to crack down on what they call harmful commercial surveillance and lax data security.
T&S Good News
Some of the good news in the T&S industry that leaders want to know
Social media titans add teen safety features. Will they work?
Christain Science Monitor | August 11, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat
As concerns about social media’s harmful effects on teens continue to rise, platforms from Snapchat to TikTok to Instagram are bolting on new features they say will make their services safer and more age appropriate. But the changes rarely address the elephant in the room – the algorithms pushing endless content that can drag anyone, not just teens, into harmful rabbit holes.
The tools do offer some help, such as blocking strangers from messaging kids. But they also share some deeper flaws, starting with the fact that teenagers can get around limits if they lie about their age. The platforms also place the burden of enforcement on parents. And they do little or nothing to screen for inappropriate and harmful material served up by algorithms that can affect teens’ mental, and physical well-being.
Meta is testing out end-to-end encryption for Facebook Messenger
Tech Circle | August 11, 2022
Company Listed: Meta
Meta is testing end-to-end encryption for backups of chats in Facebook messenger to ensure the chat history remains secure even after it is backed up on the cloud. A similar feature was rolled out to WhatsApp users last October. Meta is also working on making end-to-end encryption for chat available by default in Messenger. Currently, the feature is optional and users have to activate it to take advantage of it.
The announcement comes days after the social media company handed over private messages between a 17-year-old and her mother to law enforcement agencies in the US state of Nebraska. Vice reported that the messages were used to prosecute the teenager in an illegal abortion case abortion. Nebraska was one of the first states to ban abortion after the US Supreme Court reversed the landmark Roe vs Wade judgment of 1973.
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.
Technical Program Manager III, Global Affairs, Trust and Safety
Google, LLC | New York, NY
Posted: August 12, 2022
Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
2 years of experience in program or project management.
Experience in internal stakeholder management.
2 years of experience managing cross-functional or cross-team projects.
Experience in trust and safety.
Familiarity with Google products, types of online abuse, and policy development/strategies.
Solid analytical, quantitative, and statistical problem solving skills.
Head of Product - Issue, Americas - Trust & Safety (Multiple Positions)
Byte Dance | Mountain View, CA
Posted: August 12, 2022
Must have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or related field, and 60 months of experience in the offered position or a position in a related occupation.
Utilizing programming languages including Java, C/C++, Python, JavaScript, or Go.
SQL and NoSQL databases (Redis, Bigtable, MySQL, etc.).
Developing statistical models in large-scale distributed systems and managing large scale projects or pro.
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.