Allison Trebacz
@atrebacz-author.bsky.social
Fantasy Romance | Author | Reader | Former Meta Content Moderator
⚔️ Read my books with yearning & swords:
https://beacons.ai/allisontrebacz
⚔️ Read my books with yearning & swords:
https://beacons.ai/allisontrebacz
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
The symbiotic relationship between person who is nervous/unsure of commenting how much they enjoy someone's writing/art, and the writer/artist who is far too flustered by the compliment to reply anything besides crying emojis, hearts, and smiles behind their screen.
December 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
The symbiotic relationship between person who is nervous/unsure of commenting how much they enjoy someone's writing/art, and the writer/artist who is far too flustered by the compliment to reply anything besides crying emojis, hearts, and smiles behind their screen.
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
"If you wanna post disinformation memes with no verification, it's free. If you wanna post actual links to news that people can verify, it'll cost ya."
Facebook is testing a monthly $14.99 subscription, and telling users they need to subscribe if they want to post more than 2 links a month.
techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/f...
techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/f...
Facebook is testing a link-posting limit for professional accounts and pages | TechCrunch
Meta said that the test impacts professional accounts and pages on Facebook.
techcrunch.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
"If you wanna post disinformation memes with no verification, it's free. If you wanna post actual links to news that people can verify, it'll cost ya."
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
Children are being exploited. Let’s respond by dramatically hindering our ability to point out or criticize children being exploited, using methods we don’t understand because we’re old and incurious.
Children are being exploited and abused because Big Tech consistently prioritizes profits over people.
Enough is enough. Time to sunset Section 230.
Enough is enough. Time to sunset Section 230.
December 19, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Children are being exploited. Let’s respond by dramatically hindering our ability to point out or criticize children being exploited, using methods we don’t understand because we’re old and incurious.
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
there's like a curve graph for how the badness of UI relates to consolidation and competitiveness in the market. is there like a named law for this yet
The way tech companies constantly do stuff that nobody asked for really tells you a lot about their bigger ideology. They tell themselves that you will like it over time. What they mean is you’ll learn to endure it, or you’ll give up. quality of UI is not actually anywhere on their radar
new iOS update is sleek and also defaults in Music to “you must want songs transition as they would on a dance floor.” so many people will wonder why they can’t just listen to an album. Apps > Music > Song Transitions > toggle off.
December 9, 2025 at 7:51 PM
there's like a curve graph for how the badness of UI relates to consolidation and competitiveness in the market. is there like a named law for this yet
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
And, if you are a non-US citizen who did this work, you and your entire family will be banned from the United States. (I know this is incredible, but read the order—that’s what it says!)
If you were a tech company employee who moderated content overseas — say, trying to prevent a repeat of the Myanmar genocide! or maybe policing CSAM! Or hate speech illegal in your country! — you are a “censor” under the definitions of the Republicans in power.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Exclusive: Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa
An internal State Department memo said that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection.
www.reuters.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
And, if you are a non-US citizen who did this work, you and your entire family will be banned from the United States. (I know this is incredible, but read the order—that’s what it says!)
This is unbelievable. I worked with SO many great people on H-1Bs in CM and this is an absolute disservice.
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 10:31 PM
This is unbelievable. I worked with SO many great people on H-1Bs in CM and this is an absolute disservice.
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Are you kidding me
December 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Are you kidding me
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams at social media platforms working to identify and remove coordinated inauthentic behavior—particularly foreign influence operations. They've insisted that any attempt to study and limit such operations is actually just "censorship" with various forms of cover, whether academic or operational.
www.techdirt.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:25 PM
X’s New Feature Reveals Why Trust & Safety Work Was Never About The ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
For the last few years, Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and their allies have spent considerable energy attacking both academic researchers studying disinformation and the trust & safety teams…
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
This is horrific and feels like it should be a bigger deal. Business Insider reports that people who have worked at xAI have seen Grok create images and written material with child sex abuse material.
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-gr...
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-gr...
Behind Grok's 'sexy' settings, workers review explicit and disturbing content
Workers say they've faced sexually explicit content while xAI has marketed Grok to be deliberately provocative. Experts say the company should be cautious.
www.businessinsider.com
September 23, 2025 at 3:52 AM
This is horrific and feels like it should be a bigger deal. Business Insider reports that people who have worked at xAI have seen Grok create images and written material with child sex abuse material.
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-gr...
www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-gr...
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
On the other hand, we should not go overboard fetishizing human decision-making. We suck, we are full of biases, we rubber stamp what the machines say. We get cranky right before lunch and make crueler choices than we will an hour later.
People should ask whether automated decision-making provisions in Europe's GDPR and AI Act offer protections equal to human decisions, and whether AI explanations are reliably fit for purpose, writes Peter Douglas.
Understanding Right to Explanation and Automated Decision-Making in Europe’s GDPR and AI Act | TechPolicy.Press
The GDPR and AI Act must ensure interpretable AI, clear explanations, and protect human agency to avoid discrimination, writes Peter Douglas.
buff.ly
September 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
On the other hand, we should not go overboard fetishizing human decision-making. We suck, we are full of biases, we rubber stamp what the machines say. We get cranky right before lunch and make crueler choices than we will an hour later.
Watch American Sweatshop and understand the reality for content moderators is worse. The majority are overseas being abused in silence. It's been 8 years since I did that work in some sunny US office and the trauma still lives with me. We forget too quickly that all tech is human.
September 17, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Watch American Sweatshop and understand the reality for content moderators is worse. The majority are overseas being abused in silence. It's been 8 years since I did that work in some sunny US office and the trauma still lives with me. We forget too quickly that all tech is human.
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
American Sweatshop depicts content moderation as the hell it is
American Sweatshop depicts content moderation as the hell it is
There’s a human cost to keeping the internet humming along.
buff.ly
September 17, 2025 at 4:20 PM
American Sweatshop depicts content moderation as the hell it is
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
Spoke with director Uta Briesewitz about why she doesn’t really want you to think of American Sweatshop as a thriller and why she went out of her way to not show you the horrific things content moderators are forced to witness
American Sweatshop depicts content moderation as the hell it is
There’s a human cost to keeping the internet humming along.
www.theverge.com
September 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Spoke with director Uta Briesewitz about why she doesn’t really want you to think of American Sweatshop as a thriller and why she went out of her way to not show you the horrific things content moderators are forced to witness
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
can i, for once in my millennial life, live in precedented times? ffs
September 10, 2025 at 12:43 AM
can i, for once in my millennial life, live in precedented times? ffs
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
The mental health benefits of not knowing any history right now must be massive. Moving through your day with total equanimity. What happens next? Who knows? Maybe something good
August 26, 2025 at 7:51 PM
The mental health benefits of not knowing any history right now must be massive. Moving through your day with total equanimity. What happens next? Who knows? Maybe something good
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
For 17 years working in trust and safety, I've watched talented people burn out on impossible tasks. The problem isn't the people, it's the systems. Traditional moderation requires months of retraining for every policy change. Only big companies can afford it, and even then it works poorly. 🧵 1/9
July 31, 2025 at 7:11 PM
For 17 years working in trust and safety, I've watched talented people burn out on impossible tasks. The problem isn't the people, it's the systems. Traditional moderation requires months of retraining for every policy change. Only big companies can afford it, and even then it works poorly. 🧵 1/9
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
Recently, the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) released a comprehensive report titled Algorithmic Gatekeepers: The Human Rights Impacts of LLM Content Moderation. I spoke to its primary author, ECNL senior legal manager Marlena Wisniak. www.techpolicy.press/considering-...
Considering the Human Rights Impacts of LLM Content Moderation | TechPolicy.Press
A conversation with ECNL's Marlena Wisniak on her report, Algorithmic Gatekeepers: The Human Rights Impacts of LLM Content Moderation.
www.techpolicy.press
July 7, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Recently, the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) released a comprehensive report titled Algorithmic Gatekeepers: The Human Rights Impacts of LLM Content Moderation. I spoke to its primary author, ECNL senior legal manager Marlena Wisniak. www.techpolicy.press/considering-...
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
My new piece on accelerationism as the core strategy of technofascism.
Technoaccelerationism is the rapid progress of technology in order to drive social regression. They see AI as the key to breaking societal commitments to equity and human freedom.
Technoaccelerationism is the rapid progress of technology in order to drive social regression. They see AI as the key to breaking societal commitments to equity and human freedom.
Data & Society’s Jacob Metcalf writes that whenever you hear someone advocating for acceleration, you should ask: accelerating toward what? Today’s techno-accelerationists aim to undo generations of slow, arduous progress toward social, political, and economic equality, he says.
Trump 2.0 Runs on Tech Accelerationism | TechPolicy.Press
Jacob Metcalf says the alliance between the American far right and the tech oligarchy is driven by a shared commitment to accelerationism.
www.techpolicy.press
June 26, 2025 at 1:53 PM
My new piece on accelerationism as the core strategy of technofascism.
Technoaccelerationism is the rapid progress of technology in order to drive social regression. They see AI as the key to breaking societal commitments to equity and human freedom.
Technoaccelerationism is the rapid progress of technology in order to drive social regression. They see AI as the key to breaking societal commitments to equity and human freedom.
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
What impact is AI having on jobs in the tech industry? I've been collecting stories from tech workers—from engineers at giants like Google to content mods at TikTok to coders at small startups—to find out.
Here, in their words, is how AI is transforming, degrading, and yes, replacing their jobs.
Here, in their words, is how AI is transforming, degrading, and yes, replacing their jobs.
How AI is killing jobs in the tech industry
Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.
www.bloodinthemachine.com
June 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
What impact is AI having on jobs in the tech industry? I've been collecting stories from tech workers—from engineers at giants like Google to content mods at TikTok to coders at small startups—to find out.
Here, in their words, is how AI is transforming, degrading, and yes, replacing their jobs.
Here, in their words, is how AI is transforming, degrading, and yes, replacing their jobs.
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this
June 22, 2025 at 12:47 AM
It’s a good thing Congress isn’t alive to see this
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
NDAs don’t just silence workers—they help uphold a system of control that extracts labor while shielding tech companies and their billionaire owners from responsibility, write Nandita Shivakumar and Shikha Silliman Bhattacharjee.
buff.ly/iWxDp1P
buff.ly/iWxDp1P
June 20, 2025 at 2:18 PM
NDAs don’t just silence workers—they help uphold a system of control that extracts labor while shielding tech companies and their billionaire owners from responsibility, write Nandita Shivakumar and Shikha Silliman Bhattacharjee.
buff.ly/iWxDp1P
buff.ly/iWxDp1P
Reposted by Allison Trebacz
3) Content moderators and data workers across Africa are building political power, especially in Kenya. @techpolicypress.bsky.social @justinhendrix.bsky.social
www.techpolicy.press/technology-l...
www.techpolicy.press/technology-l...
Technology, Labor Rights, and Political Power in Kenya and Across Africa | TechPolicy.Press
Justin Hendrix speaks with Nerima Wako-Ojiwa, director of Siasa Place, and Odanga Madung, a tech and society researcher and journalist.
www.techpolicy.press
June 13, 2025 at 4:05 PM
3) Content moderators and data workers across Africa are building political power, especially in Kenya. @techpolicypress.bsky.social @justinhendrix.bsky.social
www.techpolicy.press/technology-l...
www.techpolicy.press/technology-l...
Seven years ago I was a moderator. It breaks my heart nothing has changed. Moderators deserve better. Meta needs to be held accountable but so do the companies they outsource to. Remember their names: Teleperformance, Accenture, Cognizant, CPL, Sama. They are not partners, they are complicit.
‘I didn’t eat or sleep’: a Meta moderator on his breakdown after seeing beheadings and child abuse
‘I didn’t eat or sleep’: a Meta moderator on his breakdown after seeing beheadings and child abuse
Solomon says the scale and depravity of what he was exposed to was far darker than he had ever imagined
www.theguardian.com
April 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Seven years ago I was a moderator. It breaks my heart nothing has changed. Moderators deserve better. Meta needs to be held accountable but so do the companies they outsource to. Remember their names: Teleperformance, Accenture, Cognizant, CPL, Sama. They are not partners, they are complicit.