In maliciousness of coronavirus case continuing to go up around the cosmos , Facebook ’s host of contracted content moderators are still postulate to work out of offices “ to maintain Facebook ’s profits during the pandemic . ” This is harmonise to anopen letterpublished on the company ’s national Workplace communicating software , signed by more than 200 content moderators today .
https://gizmodo.com/report-facebook-moderators-are-routinely-high-and-joke-1832870719
“ Workers have asked Facebook leading , and the leadership of your outsourcing firms like Accenture and CPL , to take urgent step to protect us and assess our work , ” the alphabetic character reads . “ You refused . We are publishing this letter because we are left with no choice . ”
Photo: Joel Saget (Getty Images)
Back in March , Zuckerbergtold reportersthat the bulk of this work force would be allow to work from home until the “ public wellness reaction has been sufficient . ” Apparently , that stripe was top in mid - October , when Facebooktoldcontent moderation team that they were required to work from their offices again . The Intercept laterreportedthat one contractile organ work out of an Accenture - possess Facebook facility in Austin , Texas became symptomatic just two days after return to work , and get a incontrovertible test back some day after . Foxglove , the law house representing these contractors , add ina statementto the New York Times that extra contractors base out of Ireland , Germany , and Poland have tested cocksure for covid-19 .
by nature , the varsity letter makes some requests for repairing the obviously strain relationship between these contractor and direction .
First , they ask that all contented moderators who are — or live with — someone in a eminent risk group be earmark to work from home indefinitely , and regardless of health status “ body of work that can be done from dwelling house should continue to be done from family . ” Right now , the only moderators granted this perquisite are those that bring in a Doctor of the Church ’s musical note proving that they ’re at mellow peril . Even then , the letter of the alphabet claim , this pick is n’t offered in some workplaces .
In the call where Zuckerberg originally granted remote work for his company ’s contractors , hementionedthat some of the more sensitive — or potentially illegal — subject like tyke abuse would be considerably make do with in - office for security function . The missive agrees that while criminal content should be handled onsite , there ’s no grounds that the rest of the content moderation team should be roped into doing the same .
The alphabetic character also asks that the moderator who work on these sorts of high - risk posts should be paid a hazard pay—1.5 times high than their common wage , while all content moderator should be offered “ tangible ” health and psychiatric care for the work that they do . Moderators , they argue , deserve “ at least ” as much mental and forcible support as Facebook ’s salaried staff .
Perhaps the bold of the letter ’s demands involve Facebook to stop outsourcing its mitigation altogether . “ There is , if anything , more clamor than ever for belligerent content moderation at Facebook . This requires our study , ” the petitioners write . “ Facebook should take the cognitive content moderation workforce in house , give us the same right field and benefits as full Facebook staff . ”
As leverage for the declarer point out that Facebook ’s prior endeavor at quiet temperate its chopine with AI - based solution were miserable failures . “ Important voice communication got sweep into the hole of the Facebook filter — and hazardous content , like self - harm , stay on up , ” the moderators , who this AI solution was not equipped to fire , write . “ Facebook ’s algorithmic program are years aside from attain the necessary level of sophistication to moderate subject matter automatically . They may never get there . ”
It ’s deserving note that these contractor hardly had it easy in the pre - pandemic era . Reportshave describe the foresighted hours , low-spirited paychecks , and psychological psychic trauma take in what the letter rightfully call one of the Facebook ’s most “ brutal ” Book of Job . As the alphabetic character explain , the worker monitoring Facebook for small fry abuse specifically had their workload upped during the pandemic , but were given “ no additional supporting ” to corroborate their slog .
Facebook currently boasts a moderation team of around 35,000 people , globally . It ’s unclear how many of those Foxglove intends to represent or in what capability .
We ’ve reached out Facebook and Foxglove for remark and will update if we listen back .
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