Facebook to pay $52m to content moderators over PTSD

Facebook has agreed to pay $52m to content moderators as compensation for mental health issues developed on the job.

The agreement settles a class-action lawsuit brought by the moderators, BBC News reports, citing The Verge.

Facebook said it is using both humans and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect posts that violate policies.

The social media giant has increased its use of AI to remove harmful content during the coronavirus lockdown.

In 2018, a group of US moderators hired by third-party companies to review content sued Facebook for failing to create a safe work environment.

The moderators alleged that reviewing violent and graphic images - sometimes of rape and suicide - for the social network had led to them developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The agreement, filed in court in California on Friday, settles that lawsuit. A judge is expected to sign off on the deal later this year.