In May 2024, a large number of workers on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform faced unexpected account suspensions, rendering them unable to complete tasks or receive payments. These suspensions were linked to problems with Amazon’s Payment system, which processes wages for MTurk workers.
Workers were locked out of their accounts, and many reported issues with their Amazon Payments account, which is required for transactions. Affected workers were informed via suspension messages stating that their Payments accounts had been suspended, preventing them from accessing MTurk until the issue was resolved.
Initially, the suspensions seemed isolated, but as more workers began to share their experiences, it became clear that the issue was widespread. Turkopticon, an advocacy group for MTurk workers, began tracking the suspensions. By late August 2024, they had collected over 300 reports of workers whose accounts were affected.
While some workers had their accounts reinstated quickly, many others remained locked out for extended periods. Turkopticon’s tracking revealed that only 146 accounts were confirmed to have been restored by the time of the report’s publication.
Amazon MTurk Workers Face Mass Account Suspensions in 2024, Raising Concerns Over Payment Glitches and Worker Support
Despite the growing number of affected workers, Amazon did not provide much clarity on the cause of the suspensions, with workers speculating that the issue stemmed from a glitch in the Payments system. Workers reached out to Amazon’s customer service but were either passed between departments or advised to create new accounts, a suggestion that could violate Amazon’s terms of service.
This advice was especially problematic because workers who created new accounts found themselves starting from scratch, losing the qualifications they had earned, which led to significant frustration.
Krystal Kauffman, a long-time MTurk worker and lead organizer at Turkopticon, expressed frustration with the situation, citing workers’ inability to access their main source of income. She shared the example of a 68-year-old worker who was unable to buy food or pay rent during his account suspension.
Workers also highlighted the issue of being allowed to buy products from Amazon but unable to earn money through MTurk, which felt contradictory and unfair. These suspensions led to financial difficulties, as many workers depend on the platform for their primary income.
Turkopticon organizers, including Krista Pawloski, noted that while the group could identify hundreds of suspended accounts, there were likely many more workers affected who had not been reached. Some workers may have stopped checking their accounts after assuming that their suspensions were permanent.
Pawloski also pointed out that Amazon’s response was inadequate, and the company’s failure to address the issue promptly left many workers in limbo, unsure whether they would ever regain access to their accounts.
The account suspensions followed a similar event earlier in January 2024, which had also been linked to specific tasks assigned to workers. During that earlier incident, workers were able to identify the root cause of the suspensions within a short time, but Amazon took longer to resolve the problem.
This led to further discontent with Amazon’s handling of such issues. Despite workers’ efforts to pinpoint the cause of the May 2024 suspensions, they found no common pattern among the affected individuals, further suggesting that a system glitch was to blame.
Amazon’s response to the May 2024 suspensions was less than transparent. A spokesperson stated that the issue affected a “relatively small subset” of workers, which was disputed by Turkopticon, who pointed to the widespread nature of the problem.
Amazon also suggested that the issue had been resolved, but declined to provide details about the number of workers affected or the timeline of the suspensions. This lack of transparency frustrated workers, who felt that Amazon should have communicated more clearly about the cause and resolution of the problem.
Ultimately, workers called on Amazon to improve its communication and provide clearer updates when issues arise on the MTurk platform. Many workers, like Pawloski, who had been on the platform for years, expressed that the situation had made them reconsider relying on MTurk for income.
Pawloski, who had completed nearly a million tasks with an almost perfect record, noted that the inconsistency and lack of support from Amazon were pushing skilled workers away from the platform. The issue highlighted broader concerns about the treatment of workers on gig platforms and the need for more reliable support and transparency from large corporations like Amazon.
