Tiktok Moderator Accuses the Company in Negligence Towards Mental Health of Its Workers
Alison Harvard
30 Dec 2021
ikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been called to court by a moderator who has suffered severe mental trauma due to hours of watching uncensored revolting content that included gore, raping, cannibalism, and more.
Candie Frazier, who worked as a TikTok moderator, claimed that the conditions of work provided to the TikTok employees are damaging to the mind. She used to work 12-hour shifts with only one break for lunch and two 15-minutes rest. During the day, moderators are forced to see hundreds of videos, sometimes multiple at once, and they are given only 25 seconds to review each video. Moreover, they are punished for having unnecessary breaks from the review of the graphic content.
Frazier said that she started to suffer from severe panic attacks and depression, and also has noticed symptoms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. The former employee has terrible nightmares and trouble sleeping because of all of the processed content she has watched prior.
TikTok has received a lawsuit for not providing the needed safe environment and psychological support to its moderators. Frazier wants the company to pay for her and others mental injuries they’ve received from working there and insists that TikTok has to establish a medical fund for content moderators.
Right now, TikTok refuses to answer any accusations or questions from the media. The only comment that has been released is that the company is striving to provide a healthy environment for its employees. The spokesperson says that TikTok cares for the wellbeing of its community and staff and works on improving the safety system of the app.
Do you think the lawsuit will continue? What measures can TikTok take to save the situation? Share your opinion in the comments below.