Labor Relations and Operation Mechanism in Chinese Commercial Content Moderation Industry
ZHAI Xiufeng
Author information+
Zhai Xiufeng is a research assistant professor of Institute for Cultural Studies, Capital Normal University. Email: zoeyzhai@cnu.edu.cn.
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History+
Published
2023-06-23
Issue Date
2023-11-22
Abstract
The huge volume of online content in China and the increasingly strict moderation requirements of Chinese government have led to a continuous increase of labor for commercial content moderation. In contrast to the focus of western researchers on Facebook and Google, the analysis of the labor process of China's content moderation industry reveals more vivid details of labor relations and its profound interaction with current political and economic environment. Through in-depth interviews with 20 content moderators/human resources employees, this paper outlines the labor conditions and operation mechanism of the online content moderation industry. Research shows that algorithm has become the dominant technology of content moderation labor management. The structural rigidity and structural elasticity of the algorithm enable itself to flexibly change the rules, so as to achieve strong driving and strong control over workers. Under the labor management by the platforms, their algorithmic tools, and labor outsourcers, technological control and bureaucratic control have been deeper integrated. As a result, the platforms and their outsourcers have been able to establish labor rules, allocate labor resources, and determine labor contracts, thus shaping a non-negotiable internet employer. This is also a typical reflection of labor instability in current society. Meanwhile, the shrinking employment is continuing to reduce the laborers’ bargaining power. Related issues require further research and attention.
ZHAI Xiufeng.
Labor Relations and Operation Mechanism in Chinese Commercial Content Moderation Industry. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication. 2023, 45(6): 81-102
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Footnotes
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Funding
This article is a phased research result of Humanities and Social Science Foundation project of Ministry of Education of China. The project name is “The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Internet Content Production and Its Governance.” (No. 20YJC860039).