Content moderator´s mental health problems are workplace accident

The Social Court No. 28 of Barcelona has recognised the mental health problems suffered by a content moderator who worked for a Meta subcontractor as an occupational accident.

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The magistrates consider that the mental consequences of workers who are dedicated to reviewing content on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Meta or YouTube are the responsibility of their employers.

“It is the first court ruling in Spain that recognises that the dismissal of a content moderator is caused by work, the continuous exposure to violent content,” says the lawyer Francesc Feliu, who represented the victim, emphasises that “work stress is the sole and exclusive trigger of the disease.”

The man, who had been under psychiatric treatment for five years, worked for CCC Barcelona Digital Services and sued the National Social Security Institute.

With this ruling, Feliu emphasises, “the judge holds companies dedicated to this sector responsible for the state of the physical and mental health of their employees and what they may suffer during the development of their work.”

Moderators are in charge of reviewing photos, videos and comments that users post on social networks and, based on the company’s policies, decide whether they should be removed or not. This exposes them to “highly sensitive” content, and often under great pressure because they must make these decisions quickly and without mistakes.

The company alleged that the employee had a previous psychological pathology and that the level of exposure was not extremely serious. “We show that going to the psychologist can never be interpreted as something negative or as the existence of a previous pathology,” adds the lawyer.

And furthermore, explains Feliú, “a company analyst proved that 50% of the people who carried out this work are part of the “high priority” team. And dealing with acts of terrorism, suicides, self-mutilations and live torture, among other content of extreme violence, generates a great “psychosocial risk.”

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