Writing · What's changing

What I'm reading: Ofcom and Instagram Instants, Ofcom's data demands in court, and Roblox in Kansas

1 min readReading roundupDiscuss on LinkedIn →

Lots going on in T&S this week. Here's what I'm reading:

- Ofcom is investigating Meta over Instagram Instants (the disappearing photo feature), asking whether they actually risk assessed it, including for kids, before it launched in May.

https://lnkd.in/emtugTf9

- Meta, TikTok and X are taking Ofcom to court over its data demands, things like how many posts got removed or downranked and how many people saw harmful content.

https://lnkd.in/eMuZrQaq

- Kansas AG got a $10M settlement out of Roblox over child safety.

https://lnkd.in/eMCmuYdE

- KOSA stalled in the Senate again, and age assurance keeps getting pulled into the debate.

https://lnkd.in/e_uAPjHu

- Consumer groups are pushing Congress to look into scams on tech platforms.

https://lnkd.in/ek__jbv2

- OpenAI is going to watermark ChatGPT and Codex text for EU users. They admit detection drops from about 92% to 66% if you swap out 10% of the words.

https://lnkd.in/eQdTMbge

What else should be on my list?

#TrustAndSafety #OnlineSafety

In the handbook

2. Know your risksHow will people misuse this product, and which harms should you tackle first?
6. Child safety and age assuranceHow do you keep children safe on a product adults use too?
17. Transparency reports and enforcement noticesHow do you explain your decisions to users and the public?
18. AI in Trust & SafetyWhere does AI help moderation, and how do you keep AI products safe?

Related

  1. Since 2024, the job is proving it works

    Since 2024 the question has moved from whether you have a policy to whether you can show it works: UK risk assessments that must be redone before significant changes, age assurance as the foundation, 48-hour removal of intimate images under the US TAKE IT DOWN Act, and free open-source tooling. Those duties land on different teams, so the leadership team should name one owner for the whole picture.

    2 min read · Essay · What's changing

  2. If a regulator asked for your pre-launch risk record tomorrow

    Ofcom's investigation into whether Meta risk-assessed Instagram Instants before launch is a test any service with UK users could face. Do the assessment at design review with a named sign-off, decide how disappearing content gets reported, and file a dated record you could hand over within a day.

    1 min read · Essay · Safety by design and operations

  3. Every public safety claim is something someone can test

    State attorneys general are testing whether what platforms told parents about safety matches what happened, as in Florida's new consumer protection suit against Discord. Give one person the list of public safety claims, attach the evidence behind each, be exact about age checks, and recheck the list whenever the product changes.

    1 min read · Essay · What's changing