What does it take to build and lead a Trust & Safety organization from the ground up, and how do leaders maintain optimism while preparing for the worst-case scenarios on the internet?

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Summary

In this session of Safe Space, host John Starr, an advisor at Thorn, sits down with Del Harvey, a legendary figure in the Trust & Safety field.

Del, who built and led Twitter's Trust & Safety team for over a decade, shares her unique career path from lifeguard to psychological screener to an icon in online safety.

Topics discussed:

  • Del's unconventional journey into the Trust & Safety field, starting from a desire to help others.
  • The early, often chaotic, days of building Twitter's Trust & Safety team from scratch.
  • The evolution of Twitter's safety approach, including proactive design decisions like stripping EXIF data from photos.
  • Key principles for hiring Trust & Safety leaders: prioritizing passion and curiosity over traditional pedigree.
  • The critical role of psychological safety in empowering teams to make rapid, high-stakes decisions.
  • The personal cost of leadership in Trust & Safety and the importance of self-care.
  • How the Trust & Safety field is evolving and the ongoing need for adaptability.
  • Practical advice for Trust & Safety leaders, emphasizing collaboration over adversarial approaches.
  • The vital role of nonprofits like Thorn in collaborating with technology companies and policymakers.
  • And much more!

Takeaways

Some of the interesting topics discussed were:

1. The Unconventional Path to Trust & Safety Leadership.

Del Harvey's journey into Trust & Safety was anything but traditional, starting with her first job as a lifeguard and moving through diverse roles from paralegal to reality TV psychological screener. Her motivation stemmed from a deeply personal desire to help those who had been mistreated, particularly after witnessing the struggles of young people in a mental institution.

As she noted, "I want to do something to try to help was what took me to a lot of the jobs that I then had after that." This varied background proved invaluable, equipping her with unique perspectives when unexpected challenges arose in online safety.

  • Her paralegal experience in domestic violence cases provided insight into victim support and legal frameworks.
  • Working with autistic children fostered empathy and an understanding of diverse needs.
  • Even administering psychological tests for reality TV applicants honed her ability to assess human behavior and potential risks.
  • Her early work with law enforcement in sting operations against online predators gave her practical experience in combating real-world harm originating online.

Del's story highlights that effective Trust & Safety leadership often benefits not from a linear career path, but from a mosaic of experiences that cultivate empathy, problem-solving skills, and a fundamental drive to protect vulnerable populations. This foundation allowed her to anticipate complex issues and build a resilient team at Twitter, emphasizing real-world applicability over theoretical knowledge.

2. Building a Trust & Safety Organization: From Reactive to Proactive.

In the nascent days of Twitter, Del Harvey found herself as the sole individual handling abuse reports, often receiving new "turf" from colleagues who recognized the burgeoning safety challenges.

Her approach quickly evolved beyond reactive cleanup to proactive problem-solving, anticipating future threats before they materialized. She recounted early conversations with Twitter's founders who initially underestimated the scale of potential issues like spam, highlighting the foresight required in Trust & Safety.

  • Early Challenges: Initially, Del's "day in the life" involved "wake up, log on, do all the tickets that had come in, all the reports," sometimes up to a hundred a day. This reactive approach quickly became unsustainable as Twitter scaled.
  • Anticipating Harm: A pivotal example was the decision regarding EXIF data when Twitter began hosting photos. While the initial thought was to leave it intact, Del advocated for stripping it out. "They don't know that potentially their latitude and longitude are embedded in the photo as data." This proactive measure eliminated a significant vector for harassment and stalking, a risk later demonstrated in external cases like the John McAfee incident.
  • Scaling Operations: As Twitter grew, so did the complexity of Trust & Safety. Del continually expanded the team's scope, incorporating more areas and making "real progress" in developing a comprehensive safety strategy. This included transitioning from simply responding to incidents to actively intervening and preventing harm. This mindset underscores the importance of embedding safety considerations at the earliest stages of product development to mitigate future risks at scale.
  • Hiring for Passion and Fostering Psychological Safety. When building Twitter's Trust & Safety team, Del Harvey prioritized passion and curiosity over traditional credentials, seeking individuals who genuinely cared about the mission of making the internet safer. This philosophy empowered team members to take ownership and make critical decisions, especially in high-pressure, time-sensitive situations.
  • Passion over Pedigree: Del explicitly stated, "The one thing that I can tell you for sure was never a factor in hiring was where you had gotten your degree from. I didn't care. I wanted to know if you knew what you were talking about and if you cared about it." This focus on intrinsic motivation and expertise, regardless of academic background, was central to her hiring strategy.
  • Empowering Decision-Making: In a field where critical decisions often need to be made at 2:00 a.m., Del knew an environment of psychological safety was paramount. She emphasized that team members needed to feel supported, even if they made a "wrong call." "They have to feel like it's going to be okay with me if they don't get it right. We'll fix it. We'll do what we can." This assurance is necessary for rapid, confident decision-making without the paralyzing fear of failure.
  • Customized Motivation: Del also highlighted the importance of understanding individual team members' needs. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, she advocated for directly asking colleagues how they prefer feedback, what motivates them, and what makes them feel successful. This tailored approach ensured that a diverse team of personalities could thrive and contribute effectively.

By building a team of passionate experts and cultivating a culture where mistakes are learning opportunities rather than punitive events, Del led a Trust & Safety organization capable of adapting to Twitter's unprecedented growth and evolving challenges.

3. The Evolution of Trust & Safety: Beyond the "Team That Says No."

Del Harvey addresses a common misconception about Trust & Safety teams: that they are primarily gatekeepers who always say "no" to new ideas or features. She argues that this adversarial perception is a trap and that effective Trust & Safety work should be collaborative and focused on achieving shared goals in the safest possible way.

  • Shifting from Adversarial to Collaborative: Instead of immediately rejecting a problematic idea, Del advises Trust & Safety professionals to engage in dialogue. For example, when presented with a hypothetical "Chainsaw Face Ripper 3000" feature, her advice is to ask, "Tell me what you're hoping to achieve... I'd love to understand what the goal is here." This reframes the conversation from a veto to a problem-solving session.
  • Proactive Engagement: The "work upfront" involves establishing "operating agreements" where new features aren't launched without the necessary tools for policy enforcement. This prevents the "unfortunate situation... of companies that are trying to do Trust & Safety by having policies against things but having no real mechanisms of enforcement."
  • Adaptability in a Dynamic Field: Despite the increasing formalization of Trust & Safety, Del emphasizes that new "wild gray areas" emerge daily due to evolving online behaviors and technologies. Over-reliance on rigid, structured frameworks risks missing these new challenges. The field demands continuous adaptation and a willingness to tackle unforeseen outcomes with flexibility.

By focusing on collaboration, understanding underlying business objectives, and building in safety mechanisms from the outset, Trust & Safety teams can transcend the "team that says no" stereotype and become integral partners in developing innovative yet responsible online platforms.

Interesting Quotes: Optimism and Preparation in Trust & Safety (31:36)

Here's how Del Harvey summarized the perspective of Trust & Safety professionals:

  • Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst: "I think it's a little bit of hope for the best, prepare for the worst." This duality allows T&S professionals to maintain a positive outlook while rigorously anticipating and mitigating potential harms.
  • Core Optimism: "If you care about people and you want to make things better for people, you can't really be a pessimist at your core because then what would the point be of all of that?" Del believes that an underlying belief in positive outcomes is essential to sustain the challenging work of Trust & Safety.
  • Enabling Positive Impacts: "You kind of have to have that deep and abiding belief that good things can come. We've seen good things come from people coming together and working together on things, and in situations where we can empower and enable those sorts of net positive impacts, why wouldn't we?" This highlights the proactive, value-driven motivation inherent in the field.

Related Content Links

Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction to Safe Space and Del Harvey
(01:29) Del's unconventional career journey to Trust & Safety
(02:00) Lifeguarding at a mental institution: A pivotal experience
(03:15) Diverse early jobs: Paralegal, theatre, pharmacy, auto shop
(03:47) Stumbling into online child safety work with law enforcement
(05:20) Transition to reality TV psychological screening
(05:33) Joining Twitter and early spam challenges
(06:41) Importance of diverse prior experiences for T&S
(08:27) Building Twitter's Trust & Safety team from scratch
(09:10) The "turf" problem: Everyone giving Del their safety issues
(09:30) Early policy development: Trademark concerns
(10:33) Hiring the first T&S team members
(11:34) Twitter's scaling and evolving T&S "aha moments"
(12:56) The challenge of ever-increasing scale
(13:51) Proactive safety: Stripping EXIF data from photos
(15:17) Real-world impact of EXIF data decision (John McAfee example)
(16:19) Hiring principles for Trust & Safety leaders: Passion over pedigree
(17:33) Importance of genuine care for the work
(18:01) Building trust within the T&S team
(19:38) Fostering psychological safety for rapid decision-making
(20:58) Having your team's back when mistakes happen
(21:22) Safer by Thorn sponsor message
(21:54) Nurturing leaders and navigating diverse team dynamics
(22:58) The overlooked shortcut: Just ask people what motivates them
(24:40) The personal cost of Trust & Safety leadership
(25:57) Del's sabbatical and realizing it was time to step back
(28:11) Del's personal self-care strategy: Hiding gemstones for kids
(29:26) Evolution of Trust & Safety as a formalized field
(30:00) Continued importance of passion and diverse expertise in hiring
(31:36) Optimism vs. Worst-Case Scenarios in T&S
(33:17) Common advice for T&S leaders: "Buy new socks!"
(34:10) Don't take company decisions personally
(35:02) Biggest misconception about Trust & Safety: "The team that always says no"
(35:50) Collaborative approach: Understanding goals, not just saying no
(36:25) Upfront work: Operating agreements and enforcement tools
(37:31) Role of non-profits and civil society in Trust & Safety
(38:35) Establishing collaborative, not adversarial, relationships with platforms
(39:38) Challenges of trust and progress in cross-sector partnerships
(40:20) Closing remarks and thanks

References

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