Ask HN: Legality of using M Turk to filter content

3 points by buggy_code 16 years ago | 2 comments

Hi!

Perhaps I should ask a lawyer this, but I'm sure someone on HN must have already faced this issue and figured it out. Here it is:

Suppose I'm running a social network site and users are allowed to upload photos. The site needs to filter for adult content, but we lack the resources to do so ourselves. This seems like a perfect application for M. Turk. Now, are there any potential legal issues for this (since the photos presented to the M. Turk-ers are user uploaded photos.)

Thanks!

jackowayed 16 years ago |

It's almost certainly not illegal so long as your TOS is worded right. The only time I could think of it being illegal is if your TOS promised never to provide the pictures to anyone besides their friends. But that's unreasonable anyway because you need some kind of admins.

Now, it's still tricky, because if the solution allows anyone to go to a link you post on m-turk and see users' content, users will get very mad. So you need a secure interface that only lets them see the specific pictures. But it could still get problematic.

Better might be attempting to hire a person or a few people for very cheap (possibly overseas). The would work some real amount of time for you, and they'd have to sign all kinds of things saying they won't do anything with the content. Then no one could get mad because theyr'e an employee, not anyone with an m-turk account.

growt 16 years ago | |

I think there might also be an issue with the turkers, since they might be exposed to all kinds of "illegal" stuff that users uploaded.