Moderators for TikTok, past, and present, were recently interviewed by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), a nonprofit news organization based in London, about their experiences working for TikTok.
One former employee, based in Columbia, worked for Teleperformance, a Paris-based moderation services company that paid moderators $10 daily. She was required to keep her webcam on throughout her shift.
She felt terrible about the requirement as she lived with her family. She remarked, “I felt very guilty telling them, ‘please don’t pass behind the camera because I could be fired.’ Teleperformance is especially paranoid with people seeing what we do.”
Other current moderators did not confirm nor deny the webcam requirement. They were required to keep strict time-keeping records of their schedule: work, breaks, and clock-in/clock-out times, however.
Another moderator worked night shifts. His daily work involved reporting videos that contained “Murder, suicide, pedophilia, pornographic content, accidents, cannibalism.” He mentioned he came across these types of videos regularly.
A TikTok spokesperson told Insider that they “strive to promote a caring working environment for our employees and contractors. Our Trust and 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.”
