As per the reports, the settlement will cover over 11,000 of the company’s current and former content reviewers. The settlement aims to help content reviewers facing depression, trauma, addictions or any other psychological damages or mental health issues caused as a result of their job at Facebook. The popular social media giant employs thousands of content moderators to sort through the large amounts of content posted on the platform. Whenever a post is flagged by a user, it is viewed and examined by a content moderator on whether it should stay or should be taken down. Facebook has said in its statement that the company is grateful to all the reviewers and moderators for making the platform safer for everyone. Furthermore, it also added that the company will provide additional support to moderators through the agreed settlement and in future too.
Enquiry into Mental Health Issues of Content Moderators
Notably, The Verge had sparked the inquiry when it reported some of the company’s content moderators who were hired through Cognizant were subject to hate speech, murders, suicides and other graphic content. However, the outsourcing firm Cognizant later left the content moderation market following the news firm’s investigations. Moreover, Selena Scola, a former content moderator at Facebook had sued the firm to start a fund for its content moderators. She had reported that she had developed the PTSD condition, post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her job as a moderator. The lawsuit demanded a psychological support programme for the tests and treatment of company’s former and present moderators.
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The aforementioned preliminary settlement would cover company’s content moderators in Florida, Texas, California and Arizona. Each moderator will receive a minimum compensation of $1,000 and up to $50,000 for psychological damages. However, the California court is yet to pronounce its final decision later in the year.
