Content Policies: An Inside Look at How Online Platforms Try to Keep You Safe

Click to Trust

Keeping users safe is a complex task for all online platforms. Many try to enact content policies to protect us from harmful content, but are those policies enough? And just how enforceable are they anyway?

In this episode of Click to Trust, we examine the critical role content policies play in ensuring online safety. And to help us do that, we’ll hear from Sabrina (Pascoe) Puls, TrustLab’s Director of Trust and Safety Policy & Operations. She explains how content policies work behind the scenes to help protect users and platforms by preventing online harms like misinformation, hate speech, and more. Sabrina also reveals the overlooked challenges that come with developing and enforcing these rules.
And throughout the episode, we’ll question whether current safety measures are truly effective or if they unintentionally miss the mark, leaving both users and platforms vulnerable.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Lack of Resources is the Biggest Hurdle for Trust and Safety Teams: Early investment not only prevents crises but also reduces long-term costs in PR damage and regulatory fines.
• Transparency in Content Policies is a Double-Edged Sword: Sabrina points out how detailed policies can help users but also give bad actors and fraudsters the information they need to exploit loopholes.
• Automation in Content Moderation Can’t Replace Human Expertise: Sabrina acknowledges a growing reliance on AI, but highlights that human moderators are essential for handling nuanced, high-risk content areas that machines can’t fully address.

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Introduction to Sabrina (Pascoe) Puls
(02:20) Differences Between Content Policies and Community Guidelines
(06:53) Common Pitfalls in Policy Creation
(09:19) Collaboration Between Policy and Engineering
(17:07) Automation vs. Human Moderation
(20:27) Convincing Leadership to Invest in Trust and Safety