In today’s digital landscape, Trust and Safety have become paramount concerns for online platformsAn online platform refers to a digital service that enables interactions between two or more sets of users who are distinct but interdependent and use the service to communicate via the internet. The phrase "online platform" is a broad term used to refer to various internet services such as marketplaces, search engines, social media, etc. In the DSA, online platforms.... With the introduction of regulations like the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), platforms face increasing pressure to ensure user safety and maintain trust. However, many find themselves at a loss when it comes to building effective trust and safety operations.
As we’ve explored in previous articles on the implications of the DSA for businesses, the UK Online Safety Act’s impact, and considerations for smaller platforms under the DSA, these regulations have far-reaching consequences. They underscore the critical need for a structured approach to T&S – one that not only ensures compliance with the fragmented online safety regulatory landscape globally but fosters a trusted environment for users.
The challenge lies in creating robust T&S operations that address the dynamic and multifaceted nature of online safety while optimising for platform operational models. Therefore, in this article, we’ll explore key pillars of successful T&S operations to guide platform operators.
Successful Trust & Safety Operations
At the heart of effective T&S operations are these five key layers of online platform management for ensuring user safety and platform integrity:
- Governance
- Safety-by-Design
- Enforcement & Response
- Iterative Improvements
- Transparency
By addressing these five areas, platforms can develop a holistic approach to trust and safety, from policy development to practical implementation and ongoing improvement. In the following sections, we’ll delve into each aspect to elaborate on its relevance to successful T&S operations.
Governance
Governance forms the foundation of any robust trust and safety framework. It’s about establishing clear team structure, roles and responsibilities, external policies, internal enforcement guidelines and procedures that govern how your platform operates and addresses safety concerns & user rights.
Developing comprehensive policies that outline acceptable behaviour, content standards, and user rights on your platform is key to effective T&S operations. These policies should be clear, accessible, and easily understood by all users. They serve as the backbone of your T&S efforts, providing a reference point for both users and your internal team.
It is also important that your platform’s governance aligns with the relevant regulatory obligations. For example, under both the EU’s DSA and the UK’s OSA, platforms are required to implement the principle: “Say what you do and do what you say” in all their policies and processes. This means compliance is not one off, but each change and update must be well governed internally and externally communicated to ensure the platform maintains compliance and continues to adapt to changing regulatory landscapes.
Beyond compliance, governance should reflect your platform’s core values and mission, aiding consistent decision-making, especially around complex T&S policy decisions. When users see alignment between your policies, actions, and stated values, it strengthens their trust in your platform.
Safety-by-Design
Safety-by-Design is a proactive approach that integrates safety considerations into your platform’s product and service development processes. Instead of treating safety as an afterthought, this approach encourages anticipation and mitigation of potential risks from the outset.
The core principle of Safety-by-Design is to identify and mitigate safety risks during the product development phase. This could involve conducting risk assessments for new features, implementing user verification processes, or designing intuitive reporting mechanisms for harmful content. While specific Safety-by-Design principles may vary depending on your platform’s nature, the key is to make safety an integral part of your product development lifecycle. This includes ensuring your moderation processes are robust, efficient & aligned with regulatory obligations.
By embedding safety considerations into your platform’s architecture, you create an environment that inherently promotes positive user behaviour, which minimises opportunities for abuse. This approach not only enhances user safety but can also reduce the workload on your T&S team, operational costs and improve overall user experience.
This proactive stance will set the stage for more effective T&S operations across your platform downstream.
Enforcement and Response
Enforcement & Response is where your governance policies and safety-by-design principles are put into action. This aspect focuses on implementing operations and tools to enforce policies and respond promptly to violations.
Detailed internal guidelines are crucial for helping your team consistently apply policies as they bridge the gap between high-level policies and day-to-day operations. These guidelines serve as a playbook for your team, helping them consistently apply policies across various scenarios and ensure that enforcement is consistent, fair, and aligned with your company’s values.
Effective enforcement requires a balance between automated systems and human oversight. Automated tools can efficiently handle large volumes of content, identifying potential violations quickly. However, human moderators are crucial for understanding context, making nuanced decisions, and handling complex cases. This balance will be different across online platforms due to the varying needs and circumstances of each platform.
As explored in our previous posts on content moderation practices and efficiency, the right tools and operating system can significantly enhance your enforcement capabilities. Our content moderationReviewing user-generated content to ensure that it complies with a platform’s T&C as well as with legal guidelines. See also: Content Moderator software, Nima, for instance, can help streamline these processes, improving both efficiency and accuracy.
Your enforcement strategy should include clear processes for content removalThis refers to the act of deleting or taking down content, which can be carried out either by the user who posted it or by the hosting platform. The platform's terms of service typically determine what content is prohibited., user sanctions, and appealIn the content moderation space, an appeal is a process whereby a user who is impacted by a company's decision can contest the decision by requesting it to be reviewed. The company's decision can range from disabling a user account, to denying access to certain services. This can involve requesting a review of the decision by another party within the... mechanisms. Clear communication about these actions helps maintain transparency and user trust. It’s important to note that enforcement isn’t just about punitive measures only. It’s also about educating users, providing support, and fostering a culture of safety within your community.
Iterative Improvements
Trust & safetyThe field and practices that manage challenges related to content- and conduct-related risk, including but not limited to consideration of safety-by-design, product governance, risk assessment, detection, response, quality assurance, and transparency. See also: Safety by design is not a “set it and forget it” endeavour. The digital landscape is constantly evolving, with new challenges emerging regularly. This is where the aspect of Iterative Improvements comes into play.
This aspect focuses on continuous assessment and improvement of your T&S practices. It involves regularly reviewing and updating your policies, procedures, and detection protocols based on new threats, user feedback, and technological advancements.
A critical component of this aspect is the implementation of a robust moderation operating system, enabling quality assurance processes for your T&S operations. This involves regularly auditing moderation decisions, analysing trends in user reports and violations, and assessing the effectiveness of your current measures. By doing so, you can identify areas for improvement and ensure that your T&S efforts remain effective over time.
User feedback plays a crucial role in this iterative process. Engage with your community, listen to their concerns, and be open to their suggestions. This not only helps you identify potential blind spots but also fosters a sense of shared responsibility for platform safety.
New technologies, like generative AI, can offer improved tools for T&S enforcement, while also potentially introducing new avenues for abuse. By staying informed and adaptable, you can stay abreast of technological advancements and proactively address emerging risks.
Transparency
Transparency is the final, but by no means least important, aspect of successful T&S operations. It involves being open about your safety measures, enforcement actions, and the reasons behind your decisions.
Transparency builds trust with your users. When people understand how and why decisions are made, they’re more likely to perceive them as fair, even if they don’t always agree with the outcomes. This could involve publishing regular transparency reports, explaining policy changes clearly, or providing detailed explanations when taking enforcement actions.
However, transparency must be balanced with user privacy and platform security. While it’s important to be open about your processes, you should not compromise user data privacy or reveal information, such as platform defences, that could be exploited by bad actors.
How can Tremau help you?
Developing robust trust and safety operations is complex yet essential for any online platform. Our exploration of the key pillars of successful T&S operations — Governance, Safety-by-Design, Enforcement & Response, Iterative Improvements, and Transparency — provides a comprehensive approach to creating and maintaining a safe and trusted online environment in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
We understand that implementing such a framework can be overwhelming, particularly for smaller platforms or those just formalizing their T&S efforts. Tremau’s expert teams can assist in assessing your platform’s unique T&S needs, providing tailored support for developing robust operations, and implementing best-in-class, end-to-end moderation solutions.
To learn more, reach out to us at info@tremau.com or fill in our contact form
