Facebook moderators play a critical role in keeping the platform safe by reviewing content and determining if it violates Facebook’s community standards. However, the job is known to be challenging and emotionally taxing. So how much does Facebook pay these important gatekeepers of its platform?
What do Facebook moderators do?
Facebook moderators are tasked with reviewing posts, images, videos and live streams on Facebook and Instagram and deciding if they should be removed for violating content policies. This includes reviewing content related to hate speech, harassment, nudity, terrorism, suicide and self-harm, and child exploitation. Moderators make tens of thousands of decisions per day on whether to delete or keep up content based on Facebook’s community standards.
It is an extremely demanding job that requires moderators to view highly disturbing content like graphic violence, hateful rhetoric and sexual abuse imagery. They must also stay on top of the latest cultural trends and nuances to determine what content crosses the line. The emotional toll of constant exposure to such toxic content is so high that Facebook provides counseling and other wellness resources to moderators.
Who employs Facebook moderators?
While some moderators are full-time employees at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, the majority are employed by third-party contracting firms around the world. Facebook currently has over 15,000 content moderators contracted through companies like Accenture, Cognizant and Genpact located across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Using contract firms allows Facebook to staff up or down more easily to meet demand. It also gives Facebook geographic diversity in its moderator pool so they can better flag localized cultural issues.
What is the pay structure for Facebook moderators?
As third-party contractors, Facebook moderators make far less than Facebook’s own employees who do similar content policy enforcement roles. While Facebook engineers make six-figure salaries on average, contractor moderators typically make between $15 to $30 per hour depending on their location.
Here is a breakdown of typical hourly pay rates for Facebook moderators around the world:
| Location | Pay Rate |
|---|---|
| United States | $18 – $25 per hour |
| Western Europe | $15 – $22 per hour |
| Philippines | $3 – $5 per hour |
| India | $2 – $4 per hour |
As you can see, moderators in developing countries like the Philippines and India are paid significantly lower rates. While the cost of living varies dramatically, the wage gap has led to public criticism that Facebook underpays foreign moderators.
How much do moderators make annually?
Assuming a full-time schedule of 40 hours per week, most Facebook moderators make between $28,000 – $36,000 per year in the US. In Europe, the typical moderator salary ranges from $25,000 – $32,000 annually. In the Philippines and India, yearly pay is far less – from $5,000 to $10,000.
However, the mental health challenges of constant exposure to toxic content have led to high burnout rates among moderators. Many only stay in the role between 1-2 years before quitting. The low pay combined with high turnover makes it difficult to build a long-term career as a Facebook moderator.
What benefits do moderators receive?
As contractors, Facebook moderators historically got little in the way of benefits compared to Facebook’s own employees. But after media scrutiny around poor working conditions, Facebook has pushed vendors to improve benefits such as:
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Onsite counseling
- 23 Wellness time per month
- Group therapy sessions
However, there have been reports that some vendor partners still fail to provide adequate wellness resources and benefits, an issue Facebook claims to be working on.
Do moderators get equity or bonuses?
Unlike Facebook’s permanent employees who get lucrative stock grants, outside contractor moderators get zero equity upside. Yearly bonuses are also rare, though some vendors provide small holiday bonuses or retention bonuses for long-tenured staff.
However, as full-time W-2 employees, moderators may qualify for 401(k) matching contributions from vendors. But the lack of equity and minimal bonus pay caps the earning potential in the role.
How has pay changed over time?
As scrutiny has grown around moderator working conditions, pay rates have increased slightly. In the US, entry-level wages were as low as $15 per hour in the mid 2010s but have risen to $18-$20 per hour today. In Europe and Asia, hourly rates used to start under $10/hour but are now up to $15+.
Rising minimum wages and a tighter labor market have also put upward pressure on pay. However, veteran moderators say that year-over-year raises rarely exceed 2-3% and pay ceilings are low.
How does Facebook moderator pay compare to Big Tech?
While Facebook and other social networks rely heavily on third-party contractors for moderation, platforms like YouTube and Twitter use a mix of contractors and direct employees for content review.
As full-time employees, YouTube and Twitter moderators earn over $75,000 per year on average – far higher than contractors doing similar work for Facebook. Twitter also provides stock to its moderators while Facebook contractors get none.
| Platform | Pay Rate | Equity |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook Contractor | $15 – $30 per hour | None |
| YouTube Employee | $75,000+ per year | Yes |
| Twitter Employee | $75,000+ per year | Yes |
The pay disparity between direct employees and contractors doing the same roles has fueled ongoing calls for tech platforms to insource moderation jobs.
Should Facebook increase moderator pay?
Given their crucial role in online safety and enabling Facebook to scale responsibly, many argue that Facebook has an ethical obligation to increase moderator pay and benefits. Facebook earned over $118 billion in revenue in 2021, dwarfing what it pays thousands of moderators.
Fairer compensation would attract more qualified candidates, improve retention and morale, and enable moderators to make it a long-term career. Ensuring adequate counseling, wellness resources, and potential equity grants could also help offset the role’s mental health challenges.
However, others counter that market forces should determine pay rates based on local supply and demand conditions. If moderator jobs remain adequately staffed at current pay scales, Facebook has little business incentive to voluntarily raise costs.
What has Facebook done to address moderator concerns?
Under rising pressure, Facebook has taken some steps to boost moderator pay and benefits including:
- Mandating that vendors meet minimum wage standards
- Requiring healthcare benefits for US moderators
- Increasing minimum wage to $22 per hour for Bay Area moderators
- Expanding wellness resources like on-call counseling
- Growing in-house moderation teams to reduce contractor reliance
However, critics say Facebook still does not do enough to support the thousands of contractors who form the backbone of content policy enforcement on its platforms. The company faces ongoing scrutiny around moderator working conditions and pay.
Conclusion
Facebook’s content moderators are critical to keeping billions of users safe online. But low pay, limited benefits and grueling mental health challenges have led to difficult working conditions – especially for third-party contractors who review content for as little as $3 per hour. While Facebook has made some improvements, there are still calls for the tech giant to improve moderator pay, equity and career development opportunities. With trillion-dollar market cap, Facebook certainly has ample resources to better compensate the moderators who sacrifice their mental health to make the platform safer.