TechScape: Netflix and the future of tech employee activism
Up for discussion in this week's newsletter: an internal brawl over Dave Chappelle's Netflix special is just the latest chapter in increasing activism in the industry
Two former Netflix employees who criticised comedian Dave Chappelle for comments directed at the trans community in The Closer, a special for the streaming service, have dropped labour complaints related to Netflix's response to the saga, they announced this week.
The decision brings a close to the most recent chapter of activism at the company and one of the more visible tech industry walkouts in the last few months. But the momentum of internal organising, particularly around social justice issues, has been building for years.
A group of current and former contractors who worked for years at the social network's Berlin-based moderation centres has reported witnessing colleagues become addicted" to graphic content and hoarding ever more extreme examples for a personal collection. They also said others were pushed towards the far right by the amount of hate speech and fake news they read every day.
They describe being ground down by the volume of the work, numbed by the graphic violence, nudity and bullying they have to view for eight hours a day, working nights and weekends, for practically minimum pay".
The Apple value that underpins all of this, elevating the secrecy concerns from an issue of potential lost revenue to one of core company DNA, is surprise and delight." It's the idea that Apple products should catch the public unaware, giving them something they want before they even know they want it.
But the secrecy has bled over into other parts of Apple's culture, too. Although the company specifically says that its policies should not be interpreted as restricting your right to speak freely about your wages, hours, or working conditions," the reality is that there's a strong expectation that internal problems should be kept internal.
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