YouTube moderators must sign contract acknowledging job could cause PTSD – report
0Reported today on The Guardian Technology
For the full article visit: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/24/youtube-moderators-contract-ptsd-mental-health
YouTube moderators must sign contract acknowledging job could cause PTSD – report
Moderators required to sign form before accepting a job with subcontractor Accenture, according to report from the Verge
Content moderators for YouTube have received legal warnings the job may negatively affect their mental health and cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new report from the Verge found.
Social media sites are increasingly informing employees of the negative effects of moderation jobs following several reports on harrowing working conditions, including long hours viewing violent and sexually exploitative content with little mental health support. Before accepting a job with Accenture, a subcontractor that works with several social media companies and manages some YouTube moderators at a Texas facility, employees had to sign a form titled "Acknowledgement", the Verge reported.
It was introduced days after the Verge published a wide-reaching investigation into the epidemic of PTSD among workers at the facility and told workers they must acknowledge that "It is possible that reviewing such content may impact my mental health, and it could even lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)."
A spokesman for Accenture told the Guardian it has long required new employees to sign these kinds of documents. The latest contract was given to new employees and reissued to existing employees, but a spokesman there are "no consequences" for not signing the reissued document.
"The wellbeing of our people is a top priority," the Accenture spokesman said. "We regularly update the information we give our people to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the work they do."
The contract was not sent at the direction of YouTube's par