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T&S Early Warning News
Get ahead of new stories that are impacting the T&S industry.
Google Is Making It Easier to Remove Personal Info From Search
The Time | May 11, 2022
Company Listed: Google
Google recently started allowing users to remove their personal information from search results, including their phone number, email, and home address. On Wednesday, the company announced at its annual I/O developer conference that it’s launching a tool to further streamline the process.
“People are worried about threats, they’re worried about things like identity theft, or they’re just generally not comfortable with their personal contact information being out there,” says Danny Sullivan, Google’s public liaison for Search. “The internet has given us easy access to all sorts of information it used to be hard to get. But that’s also caused people to have concerns about privacy and how they manage their information online. This is us trying to give people some sense of having more control over that.”
Google, Meta Must Find and Remove Online Child Pornography Under EU Draft Rules
US News | May 11, 2022
Company Listed: Google, Meta Facebook
Companies that fail to comply with the rules face fines up to 6% of their annual income or global turnover, which will be set by EU countries.
The EU executive said its proposal announced on Wednesday aimed to replace the current system of voluntary detection and reporting by companies which has proven to be insufficient to protect children.
It cited the more than one million reports of child sexual abuse in the 27-country bloc in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic a factor in the 64% rise in such reports in 2021 compared to the previous year. On top of that, 60% of child sexual abuse material worldwide is hosted on EU servers.
Why you need to add a trust and safety officer to the leadership team
TechRepublic | May 12, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
As trust becomes less of a nebulous idea and more of a competitive advantage, it might be time to add a new role to the executive team. Trust and safety officers can keep an eye on the entire user experience and make sure it is comfortable and not creepy. These leaders can build community policies and guide moderation teams to create safe, online spaces.
Tiffany Xingyu Wang, chief strategy and marketing officer at Spectrum Labs, said trust and safety officers need to be part of the executive team.
Reversing Trump Twitter ban will provoke user backlash, Elon Musk warned
The Guardian | May 11, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Elon Musk’s promise to reverse a Twitter ban on Donald Trump if he completes his takeover of the social media platform has prompted warnings that it will provoke a backlash among users and could clash with new internet safety laws.
The Tesla CEO and world’s richest man is in the process of buying Twitter for $44bn (£35.6bn) and has described himself as a “free speech absolutist” with doubts about imposing permanent bans on Twitter accounts such as Trump’s, which was suspended after the Capitol riot last January. Experts also warned that Trump’s return could lead to breaches of proposed rules governing digital content in the UK and EU.
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
Meta withdraws Ukraine war content policy guidance request
The Reuters | May 11, 2022
Company Listed: Meta Facebook
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (FB.O) said on Wednesday it has withdrawn a request for policy guidance from its Oversight Board about the content moderation of posts related to Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.
This decision was not made lightly — the PAO (policy advisory opinion) was withdrawn due to ongoing safety and security concerns," the company said in a blog post.
The board, which can make binding decisions on specific thorny content moderation appeals and give policy recommendations, said it was "disappointed" by the decision.
Appeals court rules Texas social media law can proceed
The Protocol | May 11, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
A three-person panel of federal appeals court judges is letting a Texas law aimed at punishing social media companies for alleged anti-conservative bias go into effect for now.
In a ruling late Wednesday, the panel stayed a district court injunction that had paused the law while the judges consider an appeal of the lower court's move.
The decision, which was supported by two unnamed judges and was not immediately published with the court's reasoning, comes after a Monday hearing in which the jurists appeared to struggle with basic tech concepts, including whether Twitter counts as a website.
Texas Law Against Facebook, Twitter Moderation Clears Hurdle
The BloomBerg | May 11, 2022
Company Listed: Meta Facebook, Twitter, Youtube
The trade groups claim the law, known as HB 20, would force platforms to host extremist content in violation of their user policies and their First Amendment rights. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republicans argue the law is needed to protect conservative viewpoints from being silenced.
It’s unclear how the ruling will impact the companies’ operations in the second biggest U.S. state with almost 29 million people. Representatives for Twitter, Facebook and Google’s YouTube declined to comment.
GOP state legislators move to police social media
The Hill | May 12, 2022
Company Listed: Social Media
Republican state legislators across the country are eyeing new restrictions on the type of content that major social media companies can police.
In the absence of federal action on tech reforms, the state-level proposals are leaving industry experts worried about a patchwork of regulations and a flood of litigation.
Legislators in at least 18 states have considered bills that would impose penalties for censorship or content limits based on ideological viewpoints. The specifics vary, but many of the proposals would allow users who believe their views have been censored or silenced to bring lawsuits in state courts.
T&S Good News
Some of the good news in the T&S industry that leaders want to know
Twitter launches a new web game to make its privacy policy easier to understand
TechCrunch| May 12, 2022
Company Listed: Twitter
Twitter announced today that it has rolled out a new web video game to make it easier for users to understand its privacy policy. The goal of the game, which is called Data Dash, is to educate people on the information that Twitter collects, how the information is used and what controls users have over it. The social media giant says the game is designed to help users learn how to “safely navigate the Twitterverse.”
Once you start the game, you’ll be asked to pick the language in which you would like to play. After that, you’ll have the option to select a character. The game is played by helping a dog, named Data, safely navigate “PrivaCity” by dodging ads, steering clear of spammy DMs and avoiding Twitter trolls. Each time you complete a level, you’ll learn more about Twitter’s privacy policy and what you can do to keep yourself safe on the platform.
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 Security Administrator, Trust & Safety
Roblox | San Mateo, CA
Posted: May 11, 2022
5+ Years experience working in Information Security and/or Systems Administration
BA/BS degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience
Up-to-date, working knowledge, and experience with CIS Controls and common Benchmarks
Self-organized, with high attention to detail
Excellent prioritization and execution skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Wikimedia Foundation | San Francisco, CA
Posted: May 11, 2022
The Wikimedia movement aims to become a platform that serves open knowledge to everyone. We are focusing on building strong and diverse communities that reflect the world, including those that have been left out by structures of power and privilege. In order to better support the growth of this thriving movement, the Wikimedia Foundation is dedicated to providing safe spaces for the global, robust, culturally diverse community of volunteers we serve and equitable processes for all participants.Policy experts on the Trust and Safety Policy team lead key initiatives including the Universal Code of Conduct project, work on policy issues affecting governance of the platform, and partner with other T&S personnel, community and expert stakeholders, Legal, and Public Policy on policy development and implementation assurance. Policy staff will also collaborate with the Trust and Safety Operations team, led by the Senior Manager, Legal Trust Safety Operations, to maintain and staff the...
Trust & Safety Operational Support, Analyst - Investigations
Indeed | Green Bay, WI
Posted: May 11, 2022
We are the people behind the scenes of Indeed's search results. We ensure that our results are ranked as best as they can be for our job seekers by seeking out job quality issues and stopping scams or fraud. Beyond search, we invest heavily in ensuring that Indeed has the best data analysis tools available to optimize our recruiting products and run accurate A/B tests. Simply put, we help people get the right jobs. We’re looking for an Analyst to join our growing team here at Indeed. As a Trust & Safety Operational Support Analyst, you are responsible for protecting the integrity of Indeed’s products by working in a team dedicated to monitoring the accuracy and precision of Indeed’s moderation processes. You will use these insights to optimize workflows and processes, identify efficiency opportunities, develop scalable solutions for workflows and build out strategies while working cross-functionally with other departments to make...
Trust & Safety Project Manager, WhatsApp
Meta | Tallahassee, FL
Posted: May 11, 2022
WhatsApp is a fast, simple and reliable way to talk to anyone in the world. More than 2 billion people in over 180 countries use WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends and family, anytime and anywhere. WhatsApp helps people connect and share no matter where they are in the world. The Trust & Safety team at WhatsApp is dedicated to ensure that those users have a safe, secure and high-quality experience. We are responsible for educating and protecting our users from unwanted/unsolicited messages, media, and phishing attempts. We partner with safety engineers to identify patterns and behaviors using internal tools to mitigate attacks and other violations. Were looking for a Business Integrity Program Manager to help our Business Integrity team operate more efficiently and proactively develop innovative ways to protect our end users. In this role you will address large-scale business integrity issues and partner with Product, Engineering, Data Science and Legal teams to create...
Remote Trust and Safety Associate
VirtualVocations | Denton, TX
Posted: May 11, 2022
A peer-to-peer marketplaces for clothing needs applicants for an opening for a Remote Trust and Safety Associate. Individual must be able to fulfill the following responsibilities: Review and action on user content to ensure it adheres to established code of conduct and terms of service Perform other related duties and assignments as required and as assigned by manager Review trust and safety-related inquiries from internal and external stakeholders Must meet the following requirements for consideration: A quick learner with good communication skills Pay attention to detail and have a passion for maintaining a high standard of work Resilience and persistence to handle routine daily tasks efficiently and accurately with limited supervision An active Grailed user or have a passion for learning more about the marketplace
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.