Report

A report from an academic group or civil society organization that hasn't been peer-reviewed or formally published in a book, journal, or proceeding

Trust and Safety Work: Internal Governance of Technology Risks and Harms

Toby Shulruff | 2024Type: Report

In her new paper, Toby Shulruff argues that trust and safety work is “a type of internal governance” that attempts “to mitigate disinformation, online harassment, extremism, and other harms accelerated or amplified by technology products and services.” Based on her analysis of 112 job postings and six semi-structured interviews with T&S professionals, Shulruff proposes six discrete functions of T&S work, shares eight mindsets, and identifies “six key trends including external pressure, prioritization, formalization, automation, collaboration, and prevention.”

Trust & Safety: A Snapshot of the Field 2022

Toby Shulruff | 2023Type: Report

The power of digital platforms and everyday technology to facilitate a catalog of harms—including misinformation, extremism, surveillance, harassment, and violence—is a growing societal concern. We rely on Trust and Safety professionals to counter these harms. This report is a snapshot of Trust and Safety work—what it is and what it may become—informed by the perspectives of both technology companies and Trust and Safety professionals themselves.

Ofcom Research: A Model for Understanding User Journeys in Online Gaming Environments

Ofcom | 2023Type: Report

The Interactive Services Model (ISM) sets out user journeys, workflows used by platforms, and the trust and safety measures relied upon by different services. Desk research and interviews were used to inform the representative model by building an understanding of the typical user journey through an interactive service experience. For further information on the methodology and definitions used for the purposes of this project please refer to the overview document below.

The Procedural Justice Framework for Tech Professionals

Vivian Zhao, Jackson Akselrad, and Matt Katsaros | 2023Type: Report

This report uses the procedural justice theory to provide a framework for building effective content moderation strategies. Decades of research from the criminal legal setting, along with more recent research in the online space, suggests that a deterrence approach may not be the most optimal. Studies indicate that platforms can build trust and improve rule adherence by adopting a procedural justice approach.

Online Grooming: Examining Risky Encounters Amid Everyday Digital Socialization

Thorn | 2023Type: Report

Thorn's latest research sought to understand kids’ online social networks to better disentangle high-value versus high-risk relationships. In a survey of 1,200 youth (aged 9-17), we explored young people’s attitudes and experiences with friendships and flirting online, and how they respond to threats of manipulation, grooming, and abuse. With 2 in 5 of all kids reporting they’ve been approached online by someone they thought was attempting to “befriend and manipulate” them, relevant and scalable interventions are urgently needed.

Self-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: Youth Attitudes and Experiences in 2021

Thorn | 2023Type: Report

Thorn’s latest research monitors the evolution of youth attitudes and experiences with SG-CSAM among 9-17 year-olds for the third consecutive year. Findings from 2021 reveal a sustained increase in the number of young people sharing their own SG-CSAM as well as the perceived normalcy of non-consensually re-sharing another child’s SG-CSAM. The data also underscored heightened risk among boys and Hispanic/Latino youth.

Responding to Online Threats: Minors’ Perspective on Disclosing, Reporting, and Blocking in 2021

Thorn | 2023Type: Report

Thorn's latest research on youth’s attitudes toward online safety features found that 22 percent of minors report having online sexual interactions with adults—the same percentage of minors who report having sexual interactions with peers their own age. The research, which builds on our 2020 report on the same topic, also underscores that the features provided by platforms are simply insufficient when it comes to keeping kids safe.

TRUST: Transparency Reporting Implementation Guide

Tech Coalition | 2023Type: Report

The Tech Coalition’s Trust: Voluntary Framework for Industry Transparency (the Framework) provides principles- based guidance to tech companies seeking to build trust around their efforts to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) risks on their services. This guide serves to aid industry in implementing the Framework and moving toward better alignment in transparency reporting.

Trust: Voluntary Framework for Industry Transparency

Tech Coalition | 2023Type: Report

Trust: Voluntary Framework for Industry Transparency (the Framework) was developed by the Tech Coalition to provide principles-based guidance to tech companies seeking to build trust around their efforts to address online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) risks on their services. The Framework outlines principles that provide a general basis for considering how to approach transparency reporting and recommended report categories.