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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Scammers attempting to steal Instagram passwords, email logins
NYTV | Mar 12, 2022
Company Listed: Instagram
The organization says Instagram users are receiving what appears to be an official email from the social media platform reporting the user has violated copyright laws, and that their account will be deleted within 24 hours.
The bogus message continues, “Don’t worry! If you think that Instagram has made a mistake, all you need to do is click the button and verify your account.” Then the user is taken to a website that prompts them to input their Instagram credentials.
The BBB says most scams would end after that prompt, but this one then sends users to another popup window asking them to verify their email address and password before finally redirecting them to an official Instagram page.
Ukrainian stranded in London posts TikTok war videos with 36m views
The Times | Mar 14, 2022
Company Listed: TikTok
From the bright lights of Oxford Street to views of St Paul’s Cathedral, Marta Vasyuta was busy chronicling her adventures in London on TikTok when war broke out in her homeland.
The 20-year-old watched in horror as her social media feeds filled with scenes of Russian shells raining down on Ukraine. Stranded in the UK and feeling helpless, Vasyuta picked up her phone and began documenting the atrocities on the TikTok profile she once populated with selfies.
Meta narrows guidance to prohibit calls for death of a head of state
Reuter | Mar 14, 2022
Company Listed: Meta
Facebook owner Meta Platforms (FB.O) said on Sunday that it is further narrowing its content moderation policy for Ukraine to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state, according to an internal company post seen by Reuters.
The move came after Reuters reported last week that Meta was temporarily allowing some posts on Facebook and Instagram calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
After the Reuters report, Meta said on Friday that a temporary change in its content policy, only applicable for Ukraine, was needed to let users voice opposition to Russia's attack. On the same day, Russia opened a criminal case against the social media firm.
"We are now narrowing the focus to make it explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general," Meta global affairs President Nick Clegg wrote in a post on the company's internal platform on Sunday that was seen by Reuters.
Facebook Has A Child Predation Problem
Tech live | Mar 13, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook Meta
Surely due diligence would dictate proactive steps to prevent the creation of such groups, backed up by quick action to remove any that get through once they are flagged and reported. I would have thought so. Until I stumbled into these groups and began, with rising disbelief, to find it impossible to get them taken down.
Children are sharing personal images and contact information in a sexualized digital space, and being induced to join private groups or chats where further images and actions will be solicited and exchanged.
Even as debate over Congress’s Earn It Act calls attention to the use of digital channels to distribute sexually explicit materials, we are failing to grapple with a seismic shift in the ways child sexual abuse materials are generated. Forty-five percent of US children aged 9 to 12 report using Facebook every day. (That fact alone makes mockery of Facebook’s claim that they work actively to keep children under 13 off the platform.) According to recent research, over a quarter of 9 to 12 year olds report having experienced sexual solicitation online. One in eight report having been asked to send a nude photo or video; one in ten report having been asked to join a sexually explicit livestream. Smartphones, internet access, and Facebook together now reach into children’s hands and homes and create new spaces for active predation. At scale.
Trinity Church’s Conductor Put on Leave Amid Investigation
Nytimes | Ma 13, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Trinity Wall Street, one of New York’s wealthiest and most powerful churches, said on Saturday that it was placing its high-profile director of music on leave as it investigates an allegation of sexual misconduct against him.
The director, Julian Wachner, a highly-regarded conductor, composer and keyboardist who has been a fixture at the church for more than a decade, has been accused by a former Juilliard employee, Mary Poole, of sexual assault. Ms. Poole said in an interview with The New York Times that during a music festival in 2014, Mr. Wachner pushed her against a wall, groped her and kissed her, and that he ignored her demands that he stop. Mr. Wachner denies the accusations.
In a statement to The Times on Saturday, Trinity did not mention Ms. Poole by name but said the church first learned of “allegations of sexual misconduct” against Mr. Wachner last month from social media. Ms. Poole recently posted a detailed account of her encounter with Mr. Wachner on her social media accounts, saying, “I was totally violated.”
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
New law banning cyberflashing to be included in online safety bill
The Gurdian | Mar 13, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Cyberflashing is to become a criminal offence, with perpetrators facing up to two years in jail under government plans to strengthen the upcoming online safety bill.
Three-quarters of girls aged 12-18 have been sent unsolicited nude images of boys or men, according to research published in 2020. A revised version of the online safety bill is expected to be published the week that will include a number of new offences in addition to cyberflashing.
The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, said: “The forthcoming online safety bill will force tech companies to stop their platforms being used to commit vile acts of cyberflashing. We are bringing the full weight on individuals who perpetrate this awful behaviour.”
Regulators join up to form defence ring against digital platforms
Financial Review | Mar 13, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
In the first step to unify government oversight of the digital economy, four federal digital regulators are joining forces, building “a ring of regulatory defence” against the large US digital tech platforms.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and its sister agency the Office of the eSafety Commissioner have formed the digital platform regulators forum, to be known as DP-REG.
New regulatory regime is evolving globally to regulate digital services
It Web | Mar 10, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Regulators in Europe, the UK and South Africa are being faced with new challenges in regulating rapidly evolving digital technologies. To address these complex issues, they are developing new regulatory tools and also adapting existing ones.
Webber Wentzel held a webinar on the Digital Economy in 2022, and Julian Cunningham-Day, a partner in the London office of Linklaters, explained that the EU and the UK are witnessing an evolving regulatory landscape for the digital economy, including data compliance (which has many different lenses), cyber resilience, platform liability and broader areas of regulation, such as competition, ESG and foreign investment controls.
The EU and UK approaches to regulating competition issues are starting to diverge slightly, post-Brexit, providing different models for other regimes to consider. In the EU, the proposed Digital Markets Act identifies and seeks to regulate core platform services, which includes a “gatekeeper" company concept. The big tech players (which are captured by this definition) can wield enormous power and EU regulators have decided that existing competition processes cannot move swiftly or aggressively enough to curb inappropriate behaviour by these platforms.
T&S Good News
Some of the good news in the T&S industry that leaders want to know
Online bullying: Advice to help keep children safe on social media
Thecourier | Mar 14, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
In recent years, many videos of pupils being attacked in local parks and in schools in Tayside and Fife have been widely shared.
So cyber safety expert and former teacher Dr Claire Sutherland has shared with us her advice about online bullying in order to protect children when they are using the internet.
She wants parents, carers and children to know how easy it is for a post to be seen by millions of people – and what to do when it happens to you.
Dr Sutherland, a former primary teacher in Dundee, researched cyberbullying after hearing of parents’ worries at schools in the city and in Australia, where she taught primary education.
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.
Senior Software Engineer, Trust & Security
Gemini | United States
Posted: Mar 14, 2022
Qualifications At least 6 years of software engineering experience
Advanced proficiency in at least one language
We use mostly Scala, Java and C++ on our backend and Typescript on the frontend – it’s great if you’re comfortable in those or if you’re willing to learn
The ability to work closely across teams and manage dependencies
A customer- and product-focused mindset, with the ability to make well-reasoned tradeoffs between speed and quality
The ability to adapt and handle multiple competing priorities in collaboration with peers
Work experience or knowledge of the finance industry, payments, trading and/or exchange systems It Pays to Work Here We take a holistic approach to compensation at Gemini, which includes: Competitive Compensation and Profit-Sharing Equity Flexible vacation policy Retirement Plan Matching Generous Parental leave Comprehensive health plans Training and professional development At Gemini, we strive to build diverse teams that reflect the people we want to empower through our products, and we are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status
Senior Software Engineer - Commerce, Trust, & Safety
Uber | Boston, MA, USA
Posted: Mar 13, 2022
PhD or equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or related field AND 2-years Full time Software Engineering work experience OR 5-years Full time Software Engineering work experience, WHICH INCLUDES 3-years total technical software engineering experience in one or more of the following areas:
Programming language (eg C, C++, Java, Python, or Go)
Note the 3-years total of specialized software engineering experience may have been gained through education and Full time work experience, additional training, coursework, research, or similar (OR some combination of these). The years of specialized experience are not necessarily in addition to the years of Education & Full time work experience indicated.
Product Solutions Specialist, Scaled Operations, Trust and Safety
Google Inc. | Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Posted: Mar 13, 2022
4 years of experience in business process analysis, operations management, and/or global program management
3 years of experience leading cross-functional process improvements
Experience using data to provide solutions and recommendations
Experience working with multiple large datasets and knowledge of SQL
Experience in one or more of Google's sell-side solutions (e.g., Google Ad Manager, AdSense, AdMob, etc.)
Intra-cost management experience (e.g., budgets, forecasting, operational expenditure, etc.)
Proficiency in PMP, Six Sigma (e.g. Green or Black), Lean, and other quality tools
Partner closely with Trust and Safety Trusted Experience, Service Delivery, and Technical Product experts to define engagement models and processes that drive value and efficiency to scaled operations and workflows
Senior Content Policy Analyst, Hateful Behavior
TikTok | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Posted: Mar 14, 2022
Minimum BA/BS degree
5+ years combined work experience and/or advanced education focused on combatting hate speech and/or understanding the evolution of white supremacist movements or other hateful ideologies
Experience building and overseeing teams in a rapidly evolving environment
Demonstrated systematic thought process regarding policy in an applied setting, including the ability to exercise good judgment and presence of mind in high-pressure, ambiguous situations
Experience handling sensitive information while effectively cultivating and managing external partners (i.e., vendor operations, issue experts)
Strong attention to detail -- highly self-driven and results oriented
Technical Policy Enforcement Manager, Trust and Safety
YouTube | San Bruno, CA, USA
Posted: Mar 14, 2022
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience
4 years of experience in trust and safety
Experience in operations such as scaled or sales operations, vendor management, or process/organizational improvement
Experience with data analysis tools (e.g., R, SQL, dashboards, Tableau, and spreadsheet software)
Experience in content policy, anti-abuse, and reviewing online content
Experience working with data to identify trends and make recommendations
Experience training ML models
Ability to build cross-functional partnerships across geographies
Understanding of hypothesis constructs and data constructs
Excellent business judgment and influencing/communication skills in a fast-paced environment
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.