TikTok Must Face Content Moderators’ Suit Over Disturbing Videos

Two third-party content moderators can sue TikTok and its parent ByteDance Inc. for the alleged psychologically harmful effects of watching hours of disturbing videos, including displays of bestiality, necrophilia, and violence against children.

The ruling Monday by the US District Court for the Northern District of California addressed when a company may be potentially liable for negligence impacting a worker who it doesn’t directly employ. Here, Reece Young and Ashley Velez were hired by contractors retained by TikTok to review videos on its platform that were flagged by users as containing inappropriate content, but their lawsuit adequately alleges that TikTok ...