Content moderator at live-streaming porn site Chaturbate sues, saying he suffered PTSD from his work
In the lawsuit filed last week in the US District Court for the Central District of California, plaintiff Neal Barber accused Chaturbate and its operator of negligence for "knowingly and intentionally" failing to provide their content moderators with "industry-standard mental health protections" like content filters, wellness breaks, trauma-informed counseling or peer support systems.
Barber, the lawsuit said, has suffered "psychological trauma" and other severe emotional injuries since his November 2020 hiring. He is currently on medical leave "due to PTSD" from his content moderation work, the court papers added.
A spokesperson for Multi Media, LLC — the owner of the pornographic website which is also named as a defendant — told Business Insider in a statement on Monday: "The company has not been served nor has it reviewed the complaint and therefore cannot comment on the matter at this time."
"With that said, it takes content moderation very seriously, deeply values the work of its moderators, and remains committed to supporting the team responsible for this critical work," the statement continued.
Attorneys for Barber did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BI.
Lawyers for Barber allege in the lawsuit his injuries "were not only foreseeable, but preventable."
"Had Defendants taken even the minimal precautions adopted by companies in Defendants' industry, Plaintiff would not have suffered these injuries," the lawsuit said. "Plaintiff is informed and believes that numerous other members of the proposed class have also suffered emotional harm from engaging in the content moderator duties required of them by Defendants."
Barber's lawsuit said his role was known as "customer service risk supervisor," and that his job was to act as a content moderator for the Chaturbate website, where hosts can broadcast sexual live video streams and viewers can interact with them in real time.
"Because platforms like Chaturbate host vast amounts of live, unfiltered, and sexually explicit content, content moderators are essential to maintain compliance with legal standards, enforce platform rules, and prevent the dissemination of illegal or abusive material," the lawsuit said.
The content moderators, the court papers said, serve as the "first line of defense against child exploitation, non-consensual content, violent content, obscene content, self-harm, and other violations." Without them, the porn site "would become unmanageable, unsafe, and legally vulnerable," said the lawsuit.
Barber and the proposed class, the lawsuit said, "have been and continue to be routinely exposed to some of the most graphic, disturbing, obscene and psychologically damaging content found anywhere online."
"Their jobs require them to monitor live-streamed material which too often involves child sexual abuse imagery, self-harm and suicide threats, extreme violence, and highly obscene, degrading, or dehumanizing sexual acts," the lawsuit said. "Much of this content is created to be intentionally shocking, often non-consensual, and designed to provoke trauma."
The lawsuit alleged that Chaturbate's lack of mental health protections for its employees "was not a routine workplace oversight but a conscious disregard of nondelegable duties imposed by law and public policy, including the obligation to provide a safe and healthy work environment."
Chaturbate and Multi Media previously faced another lawsuit last year brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the entities of violating the state's age-verification law. A settlement that called for Multi Media to pay a $675,000 penalty was ultimately reached between the parties.
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