Facebook’s content moderators are fighting back

No, the 2021 iPad Pro won't replace your laptop

In today's WIRED Daily, we look at how Facebook's content moderators are fighting back and explain why the 2021 iPad Pro won't replace your laptop. Facebook's content moderators are fighting back Seven hours a day, Isabella Plunkett and 15,000 other content moderators around the world look at and filter the most repulsive content on the internet for Facebook. But they don't actually work for Facebook. These workers, outsourced and employed by agencies, claim they are paid unfairly, that they are gagged by non-disclosure agreements and that they are given next to no support for the damage caused by looking at such content. And now they're fighting for change.   In Ireland, Plunkett is one of a group of content moderators, many of them anonymous, calling attention to their working conditions in an attempt to force through legislative change. Such changes could, if enacted, upend not just Facebook's outsourcing model but also the outsourcing model on which so many major technology platforms rely. Read the full story on WIRED Today's headlines EA hacked What happened: Hackers have reportedly stolen the source code for FIFA 21 and the Frostbite Engine, which is used by EA's top games including FIFA, Madden, Battlefield, and Star Wars: Squadrons. The hack amounts to 780GB of data, but EA say no player data was accessed. Why it matters: The hackers are currently advertising the data for sale on forums seen by Motherboard. EA says it does not expect an impact on its games or our business. However, deeper knowledge about how the games are developed may help those creating cheats.  Facebook to make remote working permanent What happened: All employees who want to continue working away from the office will be allowed to do so. The company didn't say what percentage of staff had requested to continue remote working, but Mark Zuckerberg says he personally plans to spend half of 2022 working remotely. Why it matters: This position stands in stark contrast to some of the other big tech companies – they seem split on the benefits and downsides of remote work. Apple and Google, for instance, have demanded staff return to work over the next couple of months. Google to address online slander What happened: A series of New York Times articles have forced Google to change its search algorithm. Websites have been soliciting unverified stories about supposed sexual predators and cheaters, then forcing the accused to pay thousands of dollars to get their names removed from the top of Google search. Why it matters: Google will change its algorithm to prevent these sites from appearing in searches. This will buttress a new feature called 'known victims', where searches for people who report they've been targeted – in nude photo leaks, for instance – will be suppressed.  No, the 2021 iPad Pro won't replace your laptop   "Sorry to break it to you, but the iPad Pro has never been about replacing your laptop" Apple's best-ever tablet is powerful, wonderful to use and just as opinionated as the company that made it Today's job picks Desktop support specialist Zwift Apply now Sales talent acceleration program MSCI Apply now This week on the podcast 💉 The rise, and huge promise, of mRNA vaccines   👮 Brain training games are here to end police brutality Listen now mRNA brought us a Covid-19 jab in record speed. Next, scientists hope the technology could open the door to vaccines for everything from flu to HIV. Read about the vaccine revolution in the latest issue of WIRED. Also in this issue... A new way to build the electric vehicles of the future Nvidia and the AI gold rush The plan to bring extinct animals back from the dead Retail gets a whole new look   Subscribe for £19 a year Prefer a weekly digest? Subscribe to the WIRED Weekly Unsubscribe  |  View this email in your browser  Queries about this email? Contact datacontroller@condenast.co.uk Condé Nast Publications 1 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JU © The Condé Nast Publications Ltd Our Privacy Policy