Bloomberg reported that: TikTok platform and parent company Bytedance failed to provide the necessary support to the content review team, and employees suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were brought to court. In a class-action lawsuit initiated by Candie Frazier, it stated that reviewers are often exposed to extreme content such as child pornography, terrorist violence, and perverted mutilation. Although some guidelines (such as psychological support and shifts within 4 hours) have been introduced in the industry, the company has not implemented them.
The lawsuit also pointed out that TikTok’s audit work is implemented on a 12-hour shift system, and there is only one-hour lunch break + two 15-minute short breaks. At the same time, they have to read hundreds of videos every day. The lawyer said that employees need to complete a video review within 25 seconds, and often even view 3-10 videos at the same time.
Candie Frazier, who lives in Las Vegas, claims that she has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to too many uncomfortable pictures and videos. Not only is it difficult to fall asleep, but also often has some terrible nightmares.
At present, the plaintiff is seeking compensation for psychological injury and hopes that the court will order the company to set up a medical fund for the auditors. In fact, such litigation is not uncommon. For example, as Facebook’s content review contractor, Pro Unlimited was sued by employees in 2018 on the grounds that they needed to be exposed to toxic and extremely disturbing content continuously and unrestricted at work.
In 2020, the YouTube review team was exposed to thousands of disturbing videos, which caused some employees to develop symptoms of PTSD and depression, and finally filed a lawsuit against the Google-owned company.