Five Predictions for Trust and Safety
A Year of Quiet Power, New Paths, and Bigger Arenas
As we gather momentum ahead of TrustCon next week, it’s clear: the trust and safety (T&S) field isn’t shrinking — it’s shifting. While public rhetoric may quiet down, the complexity, urgency, and impact of our work continue to grow. Whether you’re in-house, consulting, policy-adjacent, or just trying to keep your head above water, here are five predictions for the year ahead. If you’ll be at TrustCon let me know! I’d love to say hi.
1. Trust and safety work won’t go away — but the way we talk about it will.
We’re entering a quieter phase publicly, even as the work behind the scenes deepens. Political scrutiny, especially in the U.S., is pushing companies to retreat from public conversations about moderation and harm reduction. Some policymakers now frame inaction as virtue, claiming to protect free speech — while avoiding tough questions about digital harm.
For practitioners, this means: your work still matters. But you may need to navigate tighter communications policies, shifting internal priorities, and more pressure to "stay in your lane." Don’t mistake the silence for a signal to stop — it’s a signal to get smarter about how we frame, measure, and defend what we do.
I’ll be talking about this on one of my TrustCon panels on Tuesday, July 22, at 11:10am.
2. Fractional work and flexible careers are here to stay.
In a volatile job market, more T&S leaders are going independent — consulting, advising, or building portfolio careers across multiple orgs. This shift brings freedom, but also challenges: knowledge fragmentation, lack of benefits, and less formal mentorship.
We need new models to support this ecosystem — from community-driven learning hubs to trusted subcontractor networks to peer coaching groups. If you’re one of these pros: you’re not alone. This is a valid, growing path. And if you’re in-house, these independent experts are part of your extended team now. Invest in those relationships.
3. AI will expand your risk surface and your toolkit.
From synthetic content to autonomous agents to new abuse patterns, AI is already testing the limits of existing policy and enforcement. But it’s also enabling faster, smarter workflows — in triage, detection, translation, and user reporting.
The key challenge for T&S teams this year will be discernment: where to trust AI, where to audit it, and where to draw hard lines. This will require close collaboration with legal, infra, and user research teams — and a new wave of T&S pros who are fluent in AI ethics, evaluation, and escalation design.
4. Your work is becoming even more geopolitically relevant.
What used to be platform policy is now foreign policy. Digital regulations, content takedowns, and data flows are being wielded as bargaining chips between governments. The U.S., EU, Brazil, and India are already in overlapping standoffs — and that’s before elections enter the picture. Mark Scott is a great person to follow about all of this - especially between the EU and the US.
For practitioners, this means learning to think globally even if your remit is local. It means understanding how U.S. policy choices affect EU enforcement. And it means asking: are our playbooks ready for when trust and safety decisions land in the middle of international headlines?
5. We need more visible voices — and better safety nets to support them.
The nuance of this work rarely makes it into headlines or hearings. But we need it to — especially as misinformation, hate speech, and political manipulation escalate. Many T&S professionals have the insight to help, but fear public pushback or professional blowback.
The challenge: how do we make speaking out safe? We need legal support, emotional care, coordinated messaging, and community spaces where people can be real — and supported. This isn’t just about thought leadership. It’s about long-term field health and representation. We’ll also be discussing speaking publicly at TrustCon. That panel is on Tuesday at 1:30pm.
This isn’t the year to retreat. It’s the year to evolve — strategically, sustainably, and together. If you’ve felt isolated or unsure about where T&S is going, know this: the terrain is changing, but your skills, your values, and your community are still essential. The work remains. So do we.