The guidelines require psychological support and limiting shifts to four hours in order to help moderators cope. And the guidelines were developed since exposure to violent and disturbing videos has been proven to cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to the complaint, “ByteDance and TikTok are aware of the negative psychological effects that viewing graphic and objectionable content has on Content Moderators. Despite this knowledge, they have not implemented safety standards known throughout the industry to protect their Content Moderators from harm.”
“Plaintiff has trouble sleeping and when she does sleep, she has horrific nightmares,” according to the complaint.
TikTok issued a statement saying it cannot comment on pending litigation. And has always tried “to promote a caring working environment for our employees and contractors.”
“Our safety team partners with third party firms on the critical work of helping to protect the TikTok platform and community, and we continue to expand on a range of wellness services so that moderators feel supported mentally and emotionally,” a company spokesperson said.
