YouTube limits moderators to viewing 4 hours of disturbing content per day

Crown

Crown

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/13/17117554/youtube-content-moderators-limit-four-hours-sxsw


Extract of article:

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said today that the video platform has started limiting the number of hours its part-time content moderators can view disturbing videos to four hours per day. The news, announced during a Q&A session during Wojcicki’s South by Southwest Interactive talk here in Austin, comes as companies like YouTube are struggling to parse through the sheer volume of user-uploaded content and ensure it abides by its policies. Platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter have faced criticism for subjecting low-paid contractors to content that can be extremely disturbing.

“This is a real issue and I myself have spent a lot of time looking at this content over the past year. It is really hard,” Wojcicki said about content moderation. Recent solutions the company has landed on include both limiting the hours per day contractors perform this work and providing what Wojcicki referred to as “wellness benefits.”

Federal laws that absolve tech companies for hosting illegal content still require them to scrub illegal videos from the platform using a blend of algorithmic and human moderation. YouTube deploys a system known as Content ID to identify and remove straightforward violations involving copyrighted television, film, and music. But for videos depicting violence, murder, suicide, and other disturbing subjects, YouTube employs part-time human moderators to physically confirm the content of the videos. These people are often hired as contractors and do not have the same access to mental-health benefits as full-time Google employees. It’s unclear what types of psychological counseling part-time YouTube contractors receive under Wojcicki’s definition of “wellness benefits.”

Click for the full article on TheVerge.com

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I hadn't really thought about that aspect of the job. I used to work in IT tech support and by definition, people only called when they had a problem with their computer. People with computer problems = angry people and the job was therefore quite stressful and you needed to be quite mentally strong to do it. It was rare for people to stay in the job for more than a couple of years.

I'm guessing that this YouTube content moderator job would be similar. I bet they have a very high turnover of staff. Thoughts?
 
It’s probably being shifted onto interns. At least eventually.

I’m all for free speech but I just wish the society hasn’t degraded so much that people think disturbing video is fun and entertaining enough to make. I’d also say some forms which are illegal aren’t speech so they shouldn’t be there anyway but that takes someone to find it to remove it. That’s my opinion on it
 
I've just watched the top 5 most disturbing 911 calls made by killers and yeeaaaaahhh I totally support this. Mind you, this is material that's allowed on YT - I can only imagine what things they see that shouldn't be on the platform!
 
On one hand it is good for humans working on this position I guess.

Crown said:
But for videos depicting violence, murder, suicide, and other disturbing subjects, YouTube employs part-time human moderators to physically confirm the content of the videos.
Click to expand...

On the other hand it is a great excuse to let videos slip and go viral before flagged.
"We care for our people, we limited the working hours on bad videos to 4 per person
and with the huge amount of uploading we cannot serve better than after ...2 days"

Crown said:
“This is a real issue and I myself have spent a lot of time looking at this content over the past year. It is really hard,” Wojcicki said about content moderation.
Click to expand...

Well then, if she realised that moderation is really hard, how come and Youtube (among other platforms)

Crown said:
subjecting low-paid contractors to content that can be extremely disturbing.
Click to expand...

?????

It is funny how big companies transform the rules/laws that they have to follow to "achievments" of their own :)
 
I also agree to this, i have personally dealt with this and once found out what the symptoms are i was able to repair most of the damage, but f**k... it made me a colder person i guess.

I was ignorant enough to think that if i was exposed to any sort of bs the internet will throw at me id make me a stronger person, and f**k it did... i can see the worst grotesque things humans have done and not iven flinch or feel emotions towards it..but that was the problem...i became emotionless to everyone and anyone, i figured the key to beating the internet was being emotionless and it is...but comes at a high price call your sanity. You start hating everyone around you because you assume the hatred some people do is equally possible in the nicest of people so you have yo go with the mentality of "your guilty of murder until you prove me wrong". It was here were i found out what ive done and sence then i made it a point to never see it again and avoid it as much as possible and force myself to be emotional again, after 5 years+ it went away but the images will always be there in the back of my brain.

So yea... i support this.

As a side note: This is why places like 4chan have posts were the point is that, show u horrible images because aside from being immature babys, they know this hurts people and the internet loves nothing more but to destroy people they have never met.
 
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I didn't know Youtube allowed for such "disturbing content." I know I enjoy watching some videos about real life tragedies on Youtube here or there but the visuals aren't "disturbing," but more or less "depressing." But I guess it's good we can watch up to 4 hours a day? Hmm...I'm sure they'll implement something like they do on Facebook where you need to click on the video to "accept" that you're watching it something someday.

As far as working with Youtube to go through these types of content I don't see how many people could mentally handle it for long periods of time. =\ Not a job I'd want to do that's for sure.
 
Farley Productions said:
I didn't know Youtube allowed for such "disturbing content." I know I enjoy watching some videos about real life tragedies on Youtube here or there but the visuals aren't "disturbing," but more or less "depressing." But I guess it's good we can watch up to 4 hours a day? Hmm...I'm sure they'll implement something like they do on Facebook where you need to click on the video to "accept" that you're watching it something someday.

As far as working with Youtube to go through these types of content I don't see how many people could mentally handle it for long periods of time. =\ Not a job I'd want to do that's for sure.
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I honestly thought that disturbing stuff goes against YouTubes community guidelines.
 
I feel so bad for the YT mods... :( I doubt they have any worth while "Wellness Benefits" from YouTube -- that's a load of PC crap. I bet their contractor doesn't even provide their employees health insurance benefits. Most likely, Google contracted the work out to the lowest English-speaking bidder, and somewhere there is a big office filled with people living in poverty watching gruesome videos for 4 hours a day for minimum wage.

Actually, the Logan Paul video made me kind of realize how out of touch we may be with some of the awful stuff that is uploaded onto YouTube. The mod that saw and okayed his video initially probably thought of it as "baby stuff" compared to the other murderous videos they had been watching that day. If the Logan Paul video could spark that much outrage, imagine how bad it could be if some of this other stuff leaked out... :S
 
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