YouTube moderators required to sign doc warning of job-related PTSD

With an onslaught of reports about online content moderators facing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of their work, one company has found a solution... to possible legal troubles, that is: Make workers sign a document acknowledging PTSD as a risk of the job.

According to a new report from The Verge, Accenture, a company contracted by YouTube for content moderation services, is now requiring its workers to sign such a document. This new requirement began just days after The Verge published its report about PTSD amongst workers at the company’s Austin, Texas location.

“I understand the content I will be reviewing may be disturbing,” says the document. “It is possible that reviewing such content may impact my mental health, and it could even lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”

Accenture says it provides services to employees who need help, such as a “wellness coach.” However, if they leave the company due to job-related PTSD, they then lose access to such services. As The Verge also points out, Accenture makes no commitment to provide assistance to employees who incur PTSD while performing their duties. Experts note that requiring employees to inform their company of mental health issues “could be viewed as an illegal requirement” that runs afoul of employment law.

They also believe the purpose of this new document is to protect Accenture from an onslaught of class-action lawsuits from current and former affected employees.

In order to monitor and remove violent and disturbing videos, content platforms like YouTube outsource the work to companies like Accenture which provide workers whose job it is to moderate the uploaded videos. Many content moderators have described the work as being mentally taxing.

Content moderators who spoke to The Verge about the PTSD document said they were warned about termination if they did not comply and sign it.

It’s unclear at the moment whether the PTSD acknowledgement document is mandatory for Accenture workers who perform the moderation task for other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well.

UPDATE: Jan. 24, 2020, 2:35 p.m. EST According to a report from the Financial Times, Accenture has sent similar PTSD documents to employees in the EU contracted to provide content moderation for Facebook. The Verge's Casey Newton has also confirmed that Accenture's Texas-based employees, who also perform work for Facebook, received the documents as well.

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