Recently, at a tech conference, I saw someone wearing a T-shirt with a unicorn and a dinosaur. Below the two creatures, the words “Trust & Safety” were written. This cute but bitter meme symbolizes a role that is often overlooked in the tech industry: trust and safety. This role encompasses security, privacy, and user experience design.
While trust and safety work has been ongoing in tech companies, the term gained popularity in the media due to the increase in propaganda and organized harassment online. This role addresses issues such as misinformation, data breaches, and user harassment.
When Elon Musk made changes to Twitter, one of the first things he did was reduce its trust and safety team. This resulted in a flood of spam, harassment, and misinformation on the platform, leading to a loss of trust and a decline in ad revenue. This emphasized the importance of trust and safety in maintaining brand integrity and user experience.
Trust and safety professionals possess a variety of skills, ranging from computer security to brand management. They not only protect organizations from malicious actors but also uphold brand reputation and investor confidence.
YouTube’s improvement in filtering out offensive comments serves as an example of the impact of trust and safety efforts. Additionally, during recent US election cycles, trust and safety teams collaborated to combat election misinformation, demonstrating their crucial role in safeguarding public trust and information integrity.
Due to the “just-world fallacy,” which leads people to believe that bad things only happen to those who deserve it, the significance of trust and safety work often goes unnoticed. This cognitive bias makes it challenging for individuals to acknowledge systemic problems that are addressed by trust and safety teams.
As consumers, we often take for granted the trust and safety measures in place, as we are typically unaware of the technical intricacies involved. Consequently, the efforts of trust and safety professionals are underappreciated, despite being essential for ensuring product reliability and safety.
Unique Insights
Trust and safety roles in the tech industry play a crucial yet often unnoticed part in ensuring the security, integrity, and user experience of digital platforms. The impact of trust and safety efforts extends beyond combatting online harassment and misinformation to maintaining brand reputation and upholding public trust in critical information, such as during election cycles. The lack of recognition for trust and safety work can be attributed to cognitive biases, such as the “just-world fallacy,” and the general unawareness of the technical complexities involved in ensuring product safety.
