In a first-of-its kind case, a Washington state attorney has filed suit on behalf of two Microsoft employees who were exposed to disturbing and abhorrent content, all a part of the conditions of their work at Microsoft as commercial content moderators (CCM). According to the article reported in the McClatchy syndicate of newspapers, the two… Continue reading Microsoft sued by Commercial Content Moderators (#CCM) in first-of-its-kind case
Tag: commercial content moderation
CCM on “The Agenda”
On March 22nd, I had the honor of appearing as a guest on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin. I appreciated the opportunity to introduce the concept and existence of commercial content moderation to a wider audience. Here is the segment of the program in which I appeared.
“It’s not Science Fiction”: Hidden Labor, and Trauma, of USAF Drone Pilots
On Friday of last week, Democracy Now! devoted its program to interviews with four whistle-blowing ex-Air Force personnel who were charged with piloting drones and unleashing bombs on people under the auspices the U.S.'s policy of "targeted killing." The interviews coincide with the release of a documentary film, Drone, making its North American début this… Continue reading “It’s not Science Fiction”: Hidden Labor, and Trauma, of USAF Drone Pilots
Now available: New Publications on CCM; Google Glass, Race and Class; LIS, Diversity as Social Justice and Calls to Action;Digital Literacy
In the spirit of making academic work, so often cloistered in esoteric journals or inaccessible behind paywalls, accessible to all and in a timely fashion, I have begun the process of creating pre-production files of my upcoming publication. I have deposited these files in our open access institutional repository, Scholarship@Western. I intend to negotiate for… Continue reading Now available: New Publications on CCM; Google Glass, Race and Class; LIS, Diversity as Social Justice and Calls to Action;Digital Literacy
WIRED Publishes Piece on Commercial Content Moderation (CCM) in Philippines; US
After many months of anticipation, journalist Adrian Chen's piece on commercial content moderation as practiced in BPO (business process outsourcing) sites in the Philippines is out in WIRED magazine today. In it, Chen focuses on the employees of a US firm, TaskUs, whose employees are laboring on behalf of Silicon Valley social media startup Whisper and… Continue reading WIRED Publishes Piece on Commercial Content Moderation (CCM) in Philippines; US
Interview on CBC Ontario Morning
On April 1st, I was interviewed on CBC's Ontario Morning radio program by host Wei Chen. During the 7-minute live interview, Chen asked me about my work on commercial content moderation (CCM) and the workers that do it. It was my pleasure to share an overview of this work, and its implications, with Ontario Morning… Continue reading Interview on CBC Ontario Morning
CCM at UCLA: Feb. 20th talk at GSEIS
It was my great pleasure to visit UCLA to deliver a talk on February 20th. The invitation from the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSEIS) could not have come at a better time, in the midst of this brutal Canadian winter. A good combination of students, faculty from GSEIS and Labor Studies, gracious co-sponsorsof… Continue reading CCM at UCLA: Feb. 20th talk at GSEIS
NPR’s All Things Considered: Commercial Content Moderation (CCM) and the Internet Shadows
Greetings to all listeners who just heard the interview with me on today's All Things Considered. If you'd like to learn more about CCM and my research about the practice and people who do it, please hop over to this page for an overview and detailed discussion. For those who missed the story, you may… Continue reading NPR’s All Things Considered: Commercial Content Moderation (CCM) and the Internet Shadows
IAMCR 13 in Dublin – A Report from Our Panel
It's been a whirlwind of a week in Dublin, Ireland, as I've been visiting with colleagues and participating in IAMCR13. The conference has been time well spent, with a critical mass of critical media and communications scholars assembled in one place to talk about very real issues. At the fore has been that of continued… Continue reading IAMCR 13 in Dublin – A Report from Our Panel
Obscurity through Transparency: Facebook releases infographic that reveals little – by design?
As reported by Reuters and picked up in the Huffington Post, Facebook today released a confusing infographic ostensibly designed to shed light on the cryptic route that reported content takes through the company's circuit of screening. According to the company, content flagged as inappropriate, for any one of myriad reasons, makes its way to "...staffers… Continue reading Obscurity through Transparency: Facebook releases infographic that reveals little – by design?
Sarah T. Roberts | The Illusion of Volition 