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Kelowna-based Two Hat Security acquired by Microsoft to Collaborate on Online Safety and Wellness Solutions for Online Communities
Friday, October 29, 2021Company Profile | Follow Company
Kelowna, BC, October 29, 2021--(T-Net)--Microsoft announced today that it has acquired Kelowna-based Two Hat Security, a leading content moderation solution provider offering protection measures for online communities with a vision to build better experiences for everyone.
Globally, growing amounts of harmful content shared online have increased the need for effective and proactive content moderation. For any online community to thrive, content moderation is a critical investment to ensure positive user experiences and maintain engagement over time.
Two Hat says the company was founded in in 2012 with a bold, humble, and heartfelt belief that everyone should be able to share online without the fear of abuse or harassment. Inspired to action by the moving story of Amanda Todd, the company's founder, Chris Priebe, understood the critical importance of healthy, inclusive, and safe digital spaces for kids and founded Two Hat to solve these issues.
Chris Priebe - Founder & Executive Chairman, Two Hat (Credit: Two Hat)
Mr. Wiebe and the company set out with two ambitious goals; build the best technology and find a partner who could help bring it to the world, which they have now achieved and brought to fruition.
Microsoft and Two Hat said in a release that they share a vision for using advancements in moderation technology to nurture and protect diverse, global online communities.
This acquisition is an important evolution of the longstanding relationship between Microsoft and Two Hat that will combine innovative technology, research capabilities, highly skilled teams and the most complete cloud infrastructure.
This is a deep investment in assisting and serving Two Hat's existing customers, prospective new customers and multiple product and service experiences at Microsoft.
"Working with the diverse and experienced team at Two Hat over the years, it has become clear that we are fully aligned with the core values inspired by the vision of founder, Chris Priebe, to deliver a holistic approach for positive and thriving online communities" said Dave McCarthy - Corporate Vice President, Xbox Product Services, Microsoft in their blog announcement announcing the deal.
Microsoft said in their announcement that it believes that gaming should be inclusive and welcoming for everyone.
For the past few years, Microsoft and Two Hat have worked together to implement proactive moderation technology into gaming and non-gaming experiences to detect and remove harmful content before it ever reaches members of our communities.
Microsoft's modern office in downtown Vancouver (Credit: Microsoft)
For example, Two Hat's technology has helped to make global communities in Xbox, Minecraft and MSN safer for users. This is thanks to its highly configurable technology, which allows the user to decide what they are comfortable with and what they aren't.
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Editor's Note: See the full blog announcement from Two Hat Security regarding their acquisition by Microsoft here.
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Microsoft noted that they have witnessed the impact they've had within Xbox, and are thrilled that this acquisition will further accelerate their first-party content moderation solutions across gaming, within a broad range of Microsoft consumer services, and to build greater opportunity for our third-party partners and Two Hat's existing clients' use of these solutions.
They also recognize the trust Two Hat has built with customers who depend on its services and those relationships will continue as part of the transition. Microsoft said it has a principled approach to privacy and customers can trust that they will protect the privacy and confidentiality of their data.
"We understand the complex challenges organizations face today when striving to effectively moderate online communities. In our ever-changing digital world, there is an urgent need for moderation solutions that can manage online content in an effective and scalable way. With this acquisition, we will help global online communities to be safer and inclusive for everyone to participate, positively contribute and thrive" stated Dave McCarthy - Corporate Vice President, Xbox Product Services, Microsoft.
"This is just the beginning. Thank you to everyone who has believed in us, supported us, driven us, and inspired us. We're thrilled and excited to begin this next chapter and continue to make the world a better place - one person to person online interaction at a time", stated Chris Priebe (Founder/Executive Chairman) & Steve Parkis (CEO) in their blog announcement.
About Two Hat
Founded in 2012, Two Hat's content moderation platform Community Sift gives organizations the insights and tools necessary to create and maintain safe, healthy, and scalable online communities across multiple languages and against complex subversion tactics. With these tools, organizations see increases not only in user safety, but also across critical business metrics like engagement and retention. Two Hat is privileged to work with gaming and social networking market leaders including Activision, Roblox, Rovio, Supercell, and Warner Bros Games among others in promoting and enabling safer interactions and protecting community members from online harms.
About Microsoft
At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Microsoft operates in 190 countries and is made up of 181,000 passionate employees worldwide.
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