Facebook accused of ‘risking staff lives’ by forcing them back to offices during pandemic

‘To sacrifice our health and safety for profit is immoral,' say content moderators

Facebook has been accused of forcing its content moderators back into the office despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (AP)

More than 200 Facebook employees have written an open letter accusing the social media giant of forcing them back into the office despite the ongoing pandemic.

The open letter, from Facebook content moderators based all over the world, said the firm was placing them at risk of contracting Covid-19 in order to “maintain Facebook’s profits during the pandemic”.

They called on Facebook to prioritise the health of employees and their families, to allow more remote work, and offer other benefits, including hazard pay and mental health care.

According to the letter, content moderators who had a doctor’s note about “personal Covid risk” were exempt from going to the office, but moderators with relatives who are vulnerable to the virus were not.

The letter, addressed to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, as well as the CEOs of outsourcing companies Accenture and CPL, pointed out that the “pandemic has been good for Facebook”, as over three billion people have now joined the social media platform.

“[Mark] Zuckerberg nearly doubled his fortune during the crisis,” they wrote. “He is now worth well over US$100bn.”

Mr Zuckerberg was among other billionaires who saw their net worth rise amid the global public health crisis. In August, he became only the third person in the world to be worth over US$100bn, reported Business Insider.

The content moderators were allowed to work from home for months, but say they were forced back into the office due to “intense pressure to keep Facebook free of hate and disinformation”.

“Before the pandemic, content moderation was easily Facebook’s most brutal job,” said the letter. “We waded through violence and child abuse for hours on end. Moderators working on child abuse content had targets increased during the pandemic, with no additional support.

“Now, on top of work that is psychologically toxic, holding onto the job means walking into a hot zone,” they said, adding that there have been “multiple” cases of coronavirus in several Facebook offices.

“Facebook needs us. It is time that you acknowledged this and valued our work. To sacrifice our health and safety for profit is immoral.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said that “majority” of content moderators currently work from home.

“We appreciate the valuable work content reviewers do, and we prioritise their health and safety,” said the spokesperson.

“While we believe in having an open internal dialogue, these discussions need to be honest. The majority of these 15,000 global content reviewers have been working from home and will continue to do so for the duration of the pandemic.”

The firm added that all content moderators have access to “healthcare and confidential wellbeing resources” and that Facebook has “exceeded health guidance on keeping facilities safe”.

A spokesperson for CPL said in a statement that the nature of content moderators’ work means “it cannot be carried out from home”, adding that their “roles are deemed essential”.

“The health and safety of our employees is our top priority and we review each employee’s situation on a case by case basis,” they said. "Our employees work in a state-of-the art office, which is operating at 25 per cent capacity to facilitate strict social distancing. We are providing private transport to and from the office, so employees do not need to take public transport.

"We are very proud of the great work carried out by our team and we thank them for their continuing dedication and professionalism during these challenging times.”

 This is not the first time Facebook has clashed with its content moderators. In May this year, the firm agreed to pay US$52m (£42m) to content moderators, both current and former, as compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they had developed from the job.

It came after content moderators, hired through outsourcing giant Cognizant, told The Verge they were subject to hate speech, murders, rape, suicide and other graphic content. They brought a class-action lawsuit against Facebook for failing to create a safe work environment.