Posted on Mar 25, 2022
Former TikTok moderators sue over emotional toll of 'extremely disturbing' videos
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https://www.npr.org/2022/03/24/ [login to see] /tiktok-lawsuit-content-moderators
When Ashley Velez accepted a job last year reviewing videos for TikTok, "we were told we would be the front line of defense from protecting children from seeing violence," she said.
But the Las Vegas mother of two boys, ages 8 and 17, said she was stunned when she discovered what the position entailed.
"We would see death and graphic, graphic pornography. I would see nude underage children every day," Velez said in an interview. "I would see people get shot in the face, and another video of a kid getting beaten made me cry for two hours straight."
Velez worked for TikTok from May to November 2021, one of some 10,000 content moderators worldwide who police videos on the platform, making sure it remains an endless feed of lighthearted content, rather than a cesspool of violent and disturbing videos.
Now, Velez and another former TikTok moderator, Reece Young, have filed a federal lawsuit seeking class action status against the video-sharing app and its parent company, ByteDance.
When Ashley Velez accepted a job last year reviewing videos for TikTok, "we were told we would be the front line of defense from protecting children from seeing violence," she said.
But the Las Vegas mother of two boys, ages 8 and 17, said she was stunned when she discovered what the position entailed.
"We would see death and graphic, graphic pornography. I would see nude underage children every day," Velez said in an interview. "I would see people get shot in the face, and another video of a kid getting beaten made me cry for two hours straight."
Velez worked for TikTok from May to November 2021, one of some 10,000 content moderators worldwide who police videos on the platform, making sure it remains an endless feed of lighthearted content, rather than a cesspool of violent and disturbing videos.
Now, Velez and another former TikTok moderator, Reece Young, have filed a federal lawsuit seeking class action status against the video-sharing app and its parent company, ByteDance.
Former TikTok moderators sue over emotional toll of 'extremely disturbing' videos
Posted from npr.org
Social Media
Video
Children
Violence
Lawsuit
Posted 2 y ago
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The job description was accurate...and the correct response is to resign
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
SSgt Richard Kensinger Sounds Like they Need to Put Something "Better" in Place for the Trauma Viewing these Videos Causes. Being it's a Chinese Company, I'm Not going to Hold My Breath Though!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""We would see death and graphic, graphic pornography. I would see nude underage children every day," Velez said in an interview. "I would see people get shot in the face, and another video of a kid getting beaten made me cry for two hours straight."
Velez worked for TikTok from May to November 2021, one of some 10,000 content moderators worldwide who police videos on the platform, making sure it remains an endless feed of lighthearted content, rather than a cesspool of violent and disturbing videos.
The Brief
lawsuit seeking class action status against the video-sharing app and its parent company, ByteDance.
The Chinese-owned app is the envy of Silicon Valley social media giants and has more than 1 billion monthly active users. Its success depends in no small part on the work of moderators like Velez who toil behind the scenes to scrub TikTok of distressing content before the masses see it.
While the plight of moderators is often absent from fights over what content social media platforms allow and what they ban, there is a growing movement to hold tech giants accountable for the welfare of these workers on the front lines of that debate. On Thursday, Velez and Young sought to do just that.
"You see TikTok challenges, and things that seem fun and light, but most don't know about this other dark side of TikTok that these folks are helping the rest of us never see," said lawyer Steve Williams of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, which filed the case."...
...""We would see death and graphic, graphic pornography. I would see nude underage children every day," Velez said in an interview. "I would see people get shot in the face, and another video of a kid getting beaten made me cry for two hours straight."
Velez worked for TikTok from May to November 2021, one of some 10,000 content moderators worldwide who police videos on the platform, making sure it remains an endless feed of lighthearted content, rather than a cesspool of violent and disturbing videos.
The Brief
lawsuit seeking class action status against the video-sharing app and its parent company, ByteDance.
The Chinese-owned app is the envy of Silicon Valley social media giants and has more than 1 billion monthly active users. Its success depends in no small part on the work of moderators like Velez who toil behind the scenes to scrub TikTok of distressing content before the masses see it.
While the plight of moderators is often absent from fights over what content social media platforms allow and what they ban, there is a growing movement to hold tech giants accountable for the welfare of these workers on the front lines of that debate. On Thursday, Velez and Young sought to do just that.
"You see TikTok challenges, and things that seem fun and light, but most don't know about this other dark side of TikTok that these folks are helping the rest of us never see," said lawyer Steve Williams of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, which filed the case."...
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