A former content moderation for TikTok is suing the social media giant and its parent company for failing to protect her mental health after she watched a lot of disturbing videos.
Candie Frazier, who worked for a third-party contracting firm, stated in the proposed class action lawsuit that TikTok moderators work at a tiring pace and are obligated to review hundreds of videos per day with few breaks. Panelists only get one hour off for lunch and two 15-minute breaks during their 12-hour shifts.
She said that despite the long shifts, they often have to watch multiple videos at once, ranging from three to 10, and only review 25 seconds of each video. ByteDance keeps a close eye on the performance of the moderators, and will punish any time taken away from watching graphic videos.
According to the lawsuit, TikTok has not followed industry standards to protect content moderators, which include offering them frequent breaks and psychological support. TikTok has failed to implement technical safeguards, such as blurring or reducing the resolution of videos, that are required by the rules.
She has developed panic attacks and depression as a result of her work as a content moderator. She has trouble sleeping and suffers from horrible nightmares when she sleeps over the content she has watched.
