Hundreds of Facebook moderators in Barcelona file complaints for 'severe mental health injuries'

Nearly 350 content moderators working for Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, from Barcelona have filed complaints for "severe mental health injuries," for being exposed to "terrorist images," such as decapitations, pedophilia, or suicides.

As first reported by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia and later confirmed by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), the 344 workers are asking for compensation of up to €100,000 per worker to solve the "severe breach of contracts" that Meta and outsourcing companies, CCC Barcelona Digital Services and Telus Communications, would have committed.

The 2,000 employees of CCC Barcelona Digital Services at Torre Glòries tower in the Catalan capital were laid off back in early 2025, following Meta's decision not to require their services.

Lawyer Robert Castro, from Bastet lawyers, said that during the following days, there could be more complaints from different workers who denounce the "absolutely negligent conduct" from the involved companies.

Complaints also highlight the discrimination between workers in Barcelona from outsourcing companies and those directly hired by Meta in Ireland.

Castro states that workers suffer mental health issues such as lack of sleep, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, or depression for a job that is "one of the worst for mental health" and that they were forced to filter images with the "worst of humanity."