Platformabuse.org

What Is Platformabuse.org?

Platformabuse.org is an educational resource that serves as a knowledge source on technology-related harms and mitigations to support safe product development. It falls within the educational category of design tools, offering free access to information on platform abuse, which involves the intentional or unintentional use of technology platforms resulting in harm to self or others. Platformabuse.org fits into the design workflow during the research and planning phases, where designers, developers, and product teams identify potential risks associated with online environments, software, and hardware infrastructure. By providing structured insights into harms like child sexual abuse material, real-name policies, and other abuse vectors, it helps teams incorporate safety considerations early in product design, policy creation, and procedural development.

What Platformabuse.org Does

• Compiles information on specific technological harms, such as child sexual abuse material and real-name policy issues, from various platforms.
• Documents mitigations, including product redesigns and policy adjustments, to reduce platform abuse.
• Provides a database of examples covering topics like harassment, hate speech, extremism, and misinformation.
• Offers terminology and definitions for platform abuse, technology features, affected audiences, builders, and sources of harm.
• Supports structured analysis through frameworks that outline steps for identifying and addressing abuse risks.
• Includes sections on news and privacy policies related to safer technology practices.

How Platformabuse.org Can Be Used

• Designers reference Platformabuse.org during ideation to evaluate how features like user authentication or content sharing might enable harms such as harassment or discrimination.
• Product teams apply its harm definitions and mitigation strategies in workshops to audit existing platforms for vulnerabilities like algorithm manipulation or child exploitation risks.
• Developers use the database entries on specific policies, such as real-name requirements, to inform backend safeguards against abuse in social features.
• Trust and safety professionals consult Platformabuse.org for case studies on violence, privacy breaches, or illegal content to build detection systems and moderation guidelines.
• Teams integrate its educational content into sprint planning to proactively address exponential platform abuse trends before launch.

Who Is Platformabuse.org For?

Platformabuse.org targets product designers, engineers, developers, and trust and safety professionals working on technology platforms that impact users, including social networks, SaaS tools, and digital infrastructure. It serves teams at various experience levels addressing harms in projects involving user-generated content, collaboration features, or community moderation. Those building products with potential for misuse, such as file-sharing services or form builders, find its resources on mitigations and harm analyses particularly relevant. Policy makers and builders focused on marginalized communities or high-risk areas like extremism and child safety also benefit from its structured educational approach. Visit Platformabuse.org