Facebook Content Moderator Died From Heart Attack When Working

Last year, a US Facebook content moderator died at work after he did not meet the 98% accuracy target of the social networking giant. What Facebook moderators need to do every day is to detect and take down disturbing content like child pornography and suicidal images that users attempt to post. The victim was 42-year-old Keith Utley who worked at Tampa city, Florida.

The workers are under pressure to strictly enforce the social networking giant’s community standards.

Utley, after leaving his job in the military as a Coast Guard lieutenant commander, began working as a Facebook content moderator. Utley’s former co-workers said that he kept worried about being sacked. On March 9, 2018, he drooped down to his desk. Co-workers then noticed he started sliding off his chair.

The building had no defibrillator so two workers began carrying out CPR procedure. The report pointed out that it took the paramedics 13 minutes to arrive at the office as they had trouble finding the location. Utley had started turning blue by the time they were there. After he was rushed to a hospital, doctors diagnosed that he suffered a cardiac arrest. Utley passed away later at the hospital. Initially, employees at the Tampa site were told not to discuss the incident since it would lower productivity.

Facebook moderators working for professional services vendor are often paid less. Moreover, due to their working conditions, there are more chances of them having post-traumatic stress disorder. After the case, Facebook responded by saying it will inspect its partner sites as well as adding changes regarding its contractors’ well-being. In the future, moderators would be considered to be hired as full-time employees. Moreover, the company hopes that someday, it could provide leaving moderators with counseling.

Earlier in February, a report from The Verge unveiled that employees of Cognizant whose tasks are to deal with Facebook posts flagged for hate speech, graphic violence, and pornographic material, sought sex and drugs at the workplace to relieve their stress.

The report also stated that about 1,000 Cognizant employees working at the office in Phoenix, Arizona have been discouraged from discussing with anyone about how their job affects their emotional life, not even with their loved ones, which could further lead to them feeling anxious and isolated.