Trust & Safety Starter Kit

What these teams do

Nine kinds of work. Hardly any company does all nine, and no two split them up the same way.

• Content moderationChecking what people post against the rules, and taking down things like hate speech, harassment and threats.
• Policy developmentWriting the rules for what's allowed, then explaining and defending every word of them.
• User support and urgent problemsHandling reports of abuse, people asking for a second look at a ban, and the emergency that shows up at two in the morning.
• Fraud detection and preventionStopping scams, stolen accounts, fake payments and identity theft, partly with software and partly with people.
• Child safetyProtecting kids from abuse and predators online, including checking ages and working with police.
• Misinformation and fake campaignsFalse or misleading content, and the organized groups spreading it on purpose, especially around elections, health and emergencies.
• Spam, bots and fake accountsAutomated accounts, spam, people copying data in bulk, and groups gaming the system together. Plus spotting the next trick before it spreads.
• Compliance and legalFollowing the laws that now cover this work, like Europe's Digital Services Act, the UK's Online Safety Act, and privacy laws in Europe and the US.
• Planning for the worstGetting ready for a data leak or a big crisis, and leading the response when one happens.

Who hires for it

Nine kinds of company. Pay, the size of the job, and how seriously they take it all vary a lot.

• Social platformsThe biggest teams, and every kind of problem you can think of.

  MetaTikTokYouTubeRedditX

• Marketplaces and e-commerceFake products, sellers running scams, and making sure buying from a stranger goes OK.

  AmazoneBayEtsy

• Payments and banking appsPlus the banks. Where this work meets financial crime, like hiding where stolen money came from.

  PayPalStripe

• GamingLive voice and chat, lots of young players, and decisions made in seconds.

  RobloxTwitchSteam

• Software and cloud companiesPeople misusing the tools and services other businesses run on.

  GoogleMicrosoftSlack

• Dating and socialFake profiles, harassment, and harm that follows people offline.

  TinderHingeBumble

• Ride sharing and gig platformsKeeping people safe in the real world, checking who drivers and hosts are, and emergencies as they happen.

  UberLyftDoorDashAirbnb

• Media and publishingChecking where a story came from, copied work, and groups of fake accounts all pushing the same thing.

  Google NewsMedium

• Travel and bookingFake listings, fake reviews, and keeping guests safe.

  Booking.comExpedia

Working somewhere that doesn't fit any of these? Tell us and we'll add it. hello@trustsafety.net

Here on the T&S Network

The rest of this site, built for people in this work and people trying to get into it.

• T&S GuidesOursBreaking in, interviews and resumes, pay, staying well, and where the job goes next.
• T&S JobsOursTrust & Safety jobs, each summarized in T&S terms, plus roles hiring teams post here.
• T&S CompaniesOursA page for every company the network holds: who's hiring, and what the work is like.
• T&S CompensationOursWhat the work pays by level and region.
• T&S LevelsOursWhat each level owns, from agent to executive, and what moving up asks for.
• Hidden TalentOursBe put forward for Trust & Safety roles that fit.
• Tools & ServicesOursWhat these teams use and who they hire, from enterprise platforms and outsourcers to open source.
• T&S CalendarOursConferences, community calls, training and compliance dates, in one place.

Organizations worth joining

Groups you can join, research centers and nonprofits. Several are free, and a few will teach you a lot in a month.

• Trust & Safety Professional Associationnorth_eastThe field's main professional group, and the closest thing it has to a home base.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• All Tech Is Humannorth_eastA big community with events, a job board and a Slack people actually use.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Integrity Institutenorth_eastA community and research group for people in the field (some companies call Trust & Safety "integrity"). You need six months of experience to join.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Center for Humane Technologynorth_eastPushing tech companies to build things that are better for people and for democracy.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• INHOPEnorth_eastA network of 54 hotlines that find and remove child sexual abuse material quickly.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Institute for Rebooting Social Medianorth_eastResearch on misinformation, privacy, harassment and who gets to decide what stays up.
• Berkman Klein Centernorth_eastHarvard's center for studying the internet and society. Especially good on legal questions.
• NCMECnorth_eastThe US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Companies send reports of child abuse they find to its CyberTipline.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• GIFCTnorth_eastThe Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, where tech companies, governments, nonprofits and universities work together against terrorist content.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Trust & Safety Tooling Consortiumnorth_eastTracking the free, shared safety tools anyone can use. Based at Columbia University.
• Center for Democracy & Technologynorth_eastWorks on tech laws and rules that protect people's rights, privacy and security.
• Digital Forensic Research Labnorth_eastAn Atlantic Council program that tracks disinformation and online evidence of human rights abuses.
• National Cybersecurity Alliancenorth_eastTeaches the public how to stay safe online, working with government and tech companies.
• r/trustandsafetyprosnorth_eastAn anonymous subreddit with over a thousand people who do the work. Handy for questions you can't ask at the office.

Know one that belongs here? Send it over. hello@trustsafety.net

Newsletters

The ones people in this field actually read.

• Everything in Moderationnorth_eastTwice a week, on the rules platforms set, how they enforce them, and the laws coming for them.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Anchor Changenorth_eastKatie Harbath on tech and democracy. She's worked inside tech, in politics and in policy.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Platformernorth_eastCasey Newton's reporting on social platforms, AI and the people running them.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Now Safe for Worknorth_eastThe Trust & Safety Professional Association's own newsletter.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Digital Politicsnorth_eastMark Scott on where tech and politics collide.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Tech Policy Pressnorth_eastNews and opinion on tech policy, from many writers.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Trust & Safety Latelynorth_eastModulate's newsletter.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Indicatornorth_eastReporting, investigations and tutorials on digital deception, for the people who investigate it.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Safety Spacenorth_eastTremau's newsletter on online safety regulation and what it asks of a platform.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Vysnorth_eastQuire, a monthly newsletter on building healthier digital experiences for young people.

  Their page on the T&S Network

Podcasts

From weekly news to long chats with people who do the job. Good for the commute.

• Ctrl-Alt-Speechnorth_eastA weekly show about what people can and can't say online, with Mike Masnick and Ben Whitelaw. Start here.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Trust in Technorth_eastThe Integrity Institute's podcast, from its community of people who work on protecting the social internet.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Marketplace Risk Platform Podcastnorth_eastConversations with marketplace and platform founders and leaders, on what worked and what didn't.
• Safety is [REDACTED]north_eastConversations with content experts, technologists and researchers working to make online spaces healthier.
• Safe Spacenorth_eastThorn's John Starr talks with the people working to make the internet safer, and how they got into it.

  Their page on the T&S Network

Events

Four worth traveling for, and a calendar for the rest. If you only go to one, make it TrustCon.

• TrustConnorth_eastThe field's big yearly conference, run by the Trust & Safety Professional Association. Smaller local events fill in the rest of the year.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Marketplace Risk Conferencenorth_eastIn London, with newer ones in San Francisco and New York.
• Trust & Safety Festivalnorth_eastSeveral events in one city, so one trip covers a lot.
• T&S CalendarOursEvery conference, community call and training date we know of, in one place.
• INHOPE Summitnorth_eastChild safety, education, and the fight against child sexual abuse material.

  Their page on the T&S Network

Running one we missed? Let us know. hello@trustsafety.net

Job boards

Five places jobs show up. Together they cover most of what's open at any time.

• T&S JobsOursJobs from across the field, each summarized in T&S terms, with a weekly roundup of what's new.
• TSPA Job Boardnorth_eastEvery kind of job at every level, with a filter for companies that are members.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Responsible Tech Job Boardnorth_eastAll Tech Is Human's board, covering safe AI, Trust & Safety, and tech and democracy.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• Marketplace Risknorth_eastMostly online marketplaces, plus plenty of related jobs.
• The House of Fraudnorth_eastJust fraud jobs, and a good number of them remote.

Ways to meet people

In this field, who you know opens more doors than any application. Four ways to start knowing people.

• TSPA Coffee Chatnorth_eastOne-on-one chats with volunteers, for people in the field and people trying to get in.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• All Tech Is Human mentorshipnorth_eastA mentoring program for newcomers, people changing careers and people already in the field.

  Their page on the T&S Network

• r/trustandsafetyprosnorth_eastAnonymous, and people really do answer. Good for the question you feel silly asking.
• Go to an eventOursThe events above, plus the calendar. The chats in the hallway are the real point.

Somewhere else people gather? We'd love to hear about it. hello@trustsafety.net