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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Russia finds Meta guilty of 'extremist activity' but WhatsApp can stay
Reuters | Mar 22, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp
Summary: Moscow court filed a lawsuits against Meta for its “extremist activity”. Earlier they banned Facebook and Instagram but WhatsApp will not be affected due to its lack of functionality. Meta can return back only on Russia’s term.
A Moscow court said on Monday that Meta (FB.O) was guilty of "extremist activity", but the ruling will not affect its WhatsApp messenger service, focusing on the U.S. firm's already-banned Facebook and Instagram social networks.
Meta did not respond to requests for comment after Moscow's Tverskoi District Court said in a press statement that it had upheld a lawsuit filed by state prosecutors on banning the company's activities on Russian territory.
Meta's lawyer Victoria Shakina had earlier told the court that the company was not carrying out extremist activities and was against Russophobia, the Interfax news agency reported.
Twitter Suspends Right-Wing Site for Misgendering Rachel Levine
Advocate | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter, Social Media
Summary: Twitter has suspended The Babylon Bee for calling the transgender federal official its Man of the Year. It was violating Twitter’s hateful conduct rule. The Bee’s tweet was in response to USA Today naming Rachel Levine one of its Women of the Year. She is the first out trans person to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a position in the federal government and the highest-ranking trans federal official.
The Babylon Bee, a satirical right-wing site, has been suspended from Twitter due to its tweet misgendering Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The site was suspended for violating Twitter’s hateful conduct rule with its tweet saying it had selected Levine, a transgender woman, as its Man of the Year. Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon tweeted about the suspension Sunday night from his personal account.
The suspension means the Bee cannot tweet or retweet, put likes on other tweets, or obtain new followers. It was set to be lifted in 12 hours after the offending tweet is deleted, but Dillon said the Bee would not delete it, and he suggested other ways for followers to engage with the site. “Truth is not hate speech,” he tweeted. “If the cost of telling the truth is the loss of our Twitter account, then so be it.”
YouTube at Risk of Russia Ban After Facebook Is Deemed Illegal
Bloomberg | Mar 22, 2022
Company Listed: YouTube, Google
Google, one of the few American corporate giants still operating in Russia, is poised to lose one of its biggest footholds in the country as tensions with the Kremlin continue to escalate.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google shut its advertising business in Russia while maintaining its popular consumer services, such as YouTube. But the video service has become a significant source of tension with the government. YouTube banned a channel from Russia’s Ministry of Defense, according to an internal document reviewed by Bloomberg -- the latest in a series of actions that Googlers expect to trigger a shutdown in the country.
YouTube last week barred Russia’s military from posting on the video site for seven days after the ministry labeled its invasion of Ukraine a “liberation mission” in two videos, which the company removed, according to the document. The decision to pull the videos was escalated to YouTube’s executive leadership, according to the document.
Faked Out: Con artists copycatting social media profiles lure family and friends into scams
KKTV | Mar 22, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
(InvestigateTV) - Your pictures, your videos, your memories – all come together to create your social media identity. InvestigateTV has uncovered scammers targeting your online accounts to create a whole new you, all designed to scam your closest friends out of their money.
In the tech world it’s called “spoofing,” a hacking technique where scammers take your online content and create a duplicate fake profile with the goal of drawing your friends and followers into a web of deceit.
According to Facebook’s 2019 data, 16% of all Facebook accounts are fake or duplicate accounts.
The hackers even target the experts.
Facebook failed to detect hate speech, calls to violence in Myanmar, report finds
Market Watch | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Facebook
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A new report has found that Facebook failed to detect blatant hate speech and calls to violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority years after such behavior was found to have played a determining role in the genocide against them.
The report shared exclusively with The Associated Press showed the rights group Global Witness submitted eight paid ads for approval to Facebook, each including different versions of hate speech against Rohingya. All eight ads were approved by Facebook to be published.
The group pulled the ads before they were posted or paid for, but the results confirmed that despite its promises to do better, Facebook’s leaky controls still fail to detect hate speech and calls for violence on its platform.
The army conducted what it called a clearance campaign in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017 after an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled into neighboring Bangladesh and security forces were accused of mass rapes, killings and torching thousands of homes.
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
Australia Follows EU, UK Steps With Misinformation Bill
Pymnts | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Summary: To combat harmful disinformation and misinformation online the Australia introduced new legislation which includes protecting minors and adults from illegal and restricted content online and follows the new online safety Act. The legislation will provide the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) with new powers to hold Google, Meta, Twitter and other tech companies accountable for harmful content and manages to reduce misinformation.
The Australian government announced on Monday (March 21) that it will introduce new legislation this year to combat harmful disinformation and misinformation online.
The legislation will provide the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) with new powers to hold Google, Meta, Twitter and other tech companies accountable for harmful content on their platforms. With this announcement, Australia follows the steps already taken in Europe and the U.K. to make Big Tech companies responsible for the content posted in their platforms.
“Digital platforms must take responsibility for what is on their sites and take action when harmful or misleading content appears,” Minister for Communication, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher said.
China Blocks Bing’s Auto-Suggest Function
Pymnts | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
For one week, China users of Bing can’t use the Microsoft Corp.’s search engine auto-suggest function, Reuters reported Monday (March 21).
This is the second time since December that the People’s Republic of China has sanctioned Bing since December. It comes amid a Beijing crackdown on tech platforms and algorithms. Internet users in China noticed the first spotted the interruption on Saturday (March 19).
“Bing is a global search platform and remains committed to respecting the rule of law and users' right to access information,” Bing wrote on its China search site.
Bing gave no reason for the suspension, and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.
Online companies doing business in China have faced a torrent of regulatory crackdowns, from privacy to content.
Google will ask Australians to show ID to use Google Play
Goodereader | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Google, Google Play
As part of an increasing trend that makes it mandatory for individuals to verify their age before being allowed to access restricted content on social media, Google said the same regulations are set to be imposed on viewers in Australia in about a months’ time from now. The company revealed in a blog post users in Australia will be asked to furnish documents such as a driver’s license, passport, or credit card to view matured content on YouTube and Play Store.
Google said the above is in compliance with Australia’s ‘Online Safety Declaration 2022’ which seeks to restrict access of age-restricted content on social platforms to only appropriate users instead of making them open to all. The same will apply to the content shown on even third-party sites as well as such users would be redirected to YouTube for the age-verification process.
“As part of this process some Australian users may be asked to provide additional proof of age when attempting to watch mature content on YouTube or downloading content on Google Play,” Google’s government affairs and public policy senior manager Samantha Yorke wrote in a blog post. “If our systems are unable to establish that a viewer is above the age of 18, we will request that they provide a valid ID or credit card to verify their age.”
Google settled the case that could have forced it to hand over anti-union planning docs
Protocol | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Google
Google has settled a case with a group of Google engineers — known as the "Thanksgiving Four" — who were fired in 2019 for allegedly violating the company's security rules after helping organize their workplace, according to Vice. The ongoing battle in front of the National Labor Relations Board would likely have forced Google to publicly reveal documents that reportedly show how the company planned to prevent its workers from organizing.
The NLRB case began in December 2019, about one month after Google dismissed the four workers, who were involved in organizing petitions and protests inside the company against YouTube's hate speech policies, contracts with U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement and other issues. The engineers became known as the "Thanksgiving Four" because they were fired before the holiday. Shortly after their dismissal, the former employees filed charges with the NLRB alleging that Google retaliated against them for worker organizing, which is illegal under U.S. federal labor laws. Attorneys for the Communications Workers of America union (the parent organization of an informal union at Google called the Alphabet Workers Union) helped represent the four fired workers and two other engineers involved in the complaint.
T&S Good News
Some of the good news in the T&S industry that leaders want to know
Why Snapchat Is Banning Anonymous Messaging From Third-Party Apps
Make use of | Mar 21, 2022
Company Listed: Snapchat
People will no longer be able to message you anonymously from other apps using a Snapchat integration. Instead, you can only be messaged by users whose identities you can see.
That's because Snapchat is banning anonymous messaging from third-party apps. But why is this the case?
Snapchat has banned anonymous messaging features from third-party apps that are linked to its platform. The ban was announced in a Snapchat blog post, which read: Going forward, third-party apps will no longer be able to use a Snapchat integration to let users communicate, unless those users have "registered and visible usernames and identities".
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.
Principal Software Engineer - Trust & Safety
ROBLOX | San Mateo, CA, USA
Posted: Mar 22, 2022
Effective with demonstrable skills with compiled languages such as Go, Python, C#, Java, or other for the past 8+ years, with experience building API's preferably GraphQL or REST based
Experienced with a development track record, 8+ years shipping high complexity code and with at least one JavaScript framework such as AngularJS, Ember, Backbone, KnockoutJS.
A Leader with experience supporting essential applications on a large-scale and an ambition towards more
Knowledgeable and experienced with core JavaScript fundamentals, also modern JavaScript tools such as NPM, grunt, gulp, karma, jasmine, Istanbul..
Proficient in Microsoft SQL Server, MySql, PostgreSQL or other database technology at scale
Accomplished with HTML/CSS and its cross-browser challenges
Passionate about CSS preprocessors such as LESS or SASS and CSS libraries such as Bootstrap or Foundation
Product Specialist , Trust and Safety
TikTok | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Posted: Mar 22, 2022
1+ years project management experience, with the ability to balance multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
Experience working with cross functional stakeholders to make content streaming experiences safe - Strong analytical skillset, including expertise in Excel and SQL
Relevant undergraduate degree
Software Engineer - Trust & Safety
ROBLOX | San Mateo, CA, USA
Posted: Mar 22, 2022
Fluent in Back End software development
Focused on safety and always strive to understand the full specifications of a problem before acting
As a Software Engineer on the Trust & Safety team, you will be responsible for large parts of Roblox's public and internal facing applications
You will lead and contribute ideas to implement cutting edge features which will keep our players safe
Always raising the technical bar for the team and identifying processes to improve the team
Collaborative across teams
Help build Back End services across large distributed systems
Sr. Software Engineer - Trust and Safety - Job Seeker
Indeed | Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Posted: Mar 22, 2022
Minimum BS in Computer Science
Minimum 5 years of industry experience in software development
Deep background in new platform design and architecture
Significant experience with large scale, high-performance systems
Experience leading/mentoring other engineers
For positions that can only be performed at an Indeed office, candidates must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and present acceptable proof of vaccination by the date of hire as a condition of employment
To qualify as being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 there should have been a two week period after receiving the second dose (or any government recommended booster shot) in a 2-dose COVID-19 vaccine series, or a two week period after receiving a single-dose (or any government recommended booster shot) in a single dose COVID-19 vaccine
Compliance Analyst, Compliance Integration, Trust and Safety
Google Inc. | Washington, DC, USA
Posted: Mar 21, 2022
Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience
2 years of experience working in risk, audit, governance, and/or compliance
Experience in risk modeling or scenario analysis in financial or government services
4 years of relevant work experience across risk management discipline, data science, or statistical analytics
Experience with risk management including risk analytics, statistical modeling, risk assessments, risk event monitoring, research, scenario analysis, or systemic risk assessments
Relationship management and problem-solving skills, ability to manage collaboration and influence cross-functionally and with executive-level leadership
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Solid analytic capacity and/or developing systematic structure within a complex 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.