Spotting policy violations in livechats, Bluesky's automated mod tooling and Indian disinfo
Hello and welcome to Everything in Moderation, your guide to the policies, products, platforms and people shaping the future of online speech and the internet. It's written by me, Ben Whitelaw and supported by members like you.
Thanks to all of you who took part in last week's EiM Subscriber Survey, which quickly reached my target of 50 respondents and continues to climb. It will remain open for a few more days before I go through the results — here's the link if you'd like to have your say on the future of the newsletter.
A wintry welcome to new subscribers from Cornell University (where EiM has made it onto a course reading list!), Storykit, Aiba.ai, Middle Tennessee State University and others from across the vast plains of the web.
Here's everything in moderation from the last seven days — BW
Today's edition is in partnership with TaskUs, Inc., a leading provider of outsourced digital services and next-generation customer experience to the world's most innovative companies
TaskUs has built an industry-leading Trust + Safety practice that provides content moderation for some of the world's largest brands. TaskUs' Trust + Safety approach is centered around a unique wellness practice for its teammates that includes PhD researchers, coaches, counselors, and wellness leaders.
Policies
New and emerging internet policy and online speech regulation
Developments at major social media platforms in 2023, including rolling back policies and reducing safety staff count, represents a "dangerous backslide", according to a new report from a US-based media non-profit. Free Press found that 17 "critical policies" across Meta, Twitter and YouTube that have been softened over the last 12 months, which would be a "disaster each time a major current event captures public attention." It also laid out six recommendations for platforms in 2024, which included the usual host of calls of investment in staffing, better language coverage and researchers access to data.