Amazon to Shut Down Crowdsourcing Platform MTurk
Amazon’s crowdsourcing microtask platform Mechanical Turk will permanently shut down on September 30, 2026. The platform provided human services including data labeling, transcription, and content moderation.
What are the key facts?
- 1Amazon
- 2Mechanical Turk
- 3September 30, 2026
- 4Permanent shutdown
What happened?
Amazon’s crowdsourcing microtask platform Mechanical Turk announced that it will permanently shut down on September 30, 2026. Launched in 2005, the platform primarily provided businesses with human-performed microtask services, including data classification, data labeling, text transcription, and content moderation. The platform connected workers from 190 countries worldwide and had more than 500,000 users in total. Amazon has published a shutdown notice and directed platform users to its frequently asked questions for information about the service termination and subsequent arrangements. Businesses have long used Mechanical Turk to process data tasks requiring human judgment or review. The shutdown means the platform will cease providing related crowdsourcing services.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
Sellers that rely on MTurk for data labeling, content moderation, or product-information organization face the risk of sudden disruption to existing human workflows. Do not treat a single crowdsourcing platform as long-term infrastructure, or a transition could affect listing launches and review schedules. Highest-priority action: Inventory all MTurk-dependent tasks this week and immediately prepare alternative suppliers and a data handover plan.