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Dawn of the Digital Sweatshop

All over the world, workers are paid pennies to do menial online tasks in a largely unregulated, multimillion-dollar industry. Welcome to the Internet's factory floor.

By Ellen Cushing @elcush

The funny thing about the biggest shift in production in years is that almost nobody knows it happened. Which makes sense, if you think about it: It occurred invisibly, online, anonymously — all over the world, but, at the same time, nowhere…

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Tags: Feature, Longreads, Amazon Mechanical Turk, crowdsourcing, Amazon.com, Apple, Mike Daisey, Google

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Dawn of the Digital Sweatshop

All over the world, workers are paid pennies to do menial online tasks in a largely unregulated, multimillion-dollar industry. Welcome to the Internet's factory floor.

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Latest in Feature

Restorative justice programs may offer the best new hope for reducing violence in Oakland schools and the city overall, but their future funding is uncertain.

People who can't afford to hire an attorney have virtually no chance in court against well-heeled lawyers for banks and debt collection companies.

An early warning system would save thousands of lives when the next major earthquake hits. But will California find the money to implement it?

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We recommend the best local bands to check out this season.

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