TikTok content material moderator information class motion lawsuit for psychological trauma

TikTok is home to viral cooking hacks and dance videos – but it’s also the newest social media company to have a content moderation issue.

Candie Frazier, who works as the contracted content presenter, filed a class action lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance in federal court on Thursday for psychological trauma. Frazier claims she has developed anxiety, depression and PTSD because of the strictly regulated 12-hour shifts in which she watched a stream of “animal cruelty, torture, suicide, child abuse, murder, beheading and other graphic content”. “Troubling videos also discussed conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, political misinformation and other destabilizing content.

TikTok knew the risks of subjecting contractors to this type of work and was not following industry-standard protocols for protecting the mental health of content moderators, the lawsuit said. It also notes that TikTok was part of a coalition that developed best practices to protect employees who need to filter out images of child sexual abuse. However, TikTok has failed to implement many of these policies, including limiting the time moderators are exposed to troubling videos, employee mental health reviews, and providing mental health check-ins, the lawsuit said.

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Frazier urges TikTok and ByteDance to pay for a “medical surveillance program to facilitate ongoing examination, diagnosis and appropriate treatment” of Frazier and anyone else who joins the class action, if possible, to proceed.

TikTok moderators need to watch multiple 25-second video clips simultaneously and in quick succession. TikTok uses a computer program to make sure the moderators stay on top of things throughout their 12-hour shift, the lawsuit said. Moderators can cut their pay if they fail to meet the tight schedule (which includes two 15-minute breaks and an hour-long lunch) amid the continuous flow of toxic content.

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Content moderators suffering from psychological trauma are a known problem. In 2020, Facebook settled a similar class action lawsuit filed by its own contracted content moderators who suffered from a PTSD for $ 52 million.

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