Kenyan Court Decides Meta Can Be Sued For Dismissal Of Content Moderator

Mercy Mutemi, a lawyer representing content moderators in Kenya (photo: x i @MercyMutemi)

JAKARTA The Kenyan court ruled that Facebook's parent company, Meta, could be sued in the country over the dismissal of dozens of content moderators employed by contractor companies. This decision follows a lawsuit filed by content moderators working for Sama, a Kenyan-based company signed by Meta to moderate content on Facebook.

The moderators claim they were fired after trying to form a union and then barred from applying for jobs at a new contractor company Majorel, after Meta replaced its contractor partners.

The case began last year when content moderators sued Meta and two contractors for their dismissal from Sama. They said their efforts to organize a union were the reasons behind the dismissal.

After being fired, they also claimed that they were blacklisted, so they could not apply for a similar position in Majorel, a new contractor company appointed by Meta to replace Sama.

Out-of-court settlement efforts between moderators and Meta failed in October last year, leading to legal proceedings. The case is considered to have major implications for Meta's way of cooperating with content moderators around the world, especially in terms of protecting workers' rights and working conditions.

In a decision announced Friday, September 20, the Kenyan Court of Appeal upheld the previous decision from the Labor Court in April 2023 which stated that Meta could be tried for the dismissal case.

Meta had previously appealed the ruling, but the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal. In addition, the court also confirmed a separate decision in February 2023 stating that Meta could be sued in Kenya on alleged poor working conditions, which Meta has also filed an appeal.

In their ruling, the judges stated that "the conclusion of our findings is that the appeal filed by Meta has no basis, and both appeals are hereby rejected at the expense borne by the defendant."

Until now, Meta and Majorel have not responded to the ruling, while Sama said they are reviewing the court's decision and will soon provide an official statement.

Responding to a court ruling, Mercy Mutemi, a lawyer representing content moderators, said the ruling was a warning to other major tech companies to pay more attention to human rights abuses that may occur in their supply chains.

"Meta being sued in Kenya is a wake-up call for all major technology companies to pay attention to human rights violations that occur along their supply chains," Mutemi said.

Foxgloveve, a British technology rights advocacy group that supports the case, also expressed his joy at the decision. "We are very pleased that the obstacles have finally been resolved, and we will support these 185 contractors at every step towards trial," said Foxglove Director Martha Dark.

Meta has previously responded to accusations related to poor working conditions in Kenya by stating that it requires its contractor partners to provide working conditions that comply with industry standards. Majorel, on the other hand, stated that they did not comment on the ongoing or active litigation.

This decision is seen as an important step in ensuring that big tech companies, such as Meta, are responsible for their actions against their workers around the world, including in terms of protecting labor rights and proper working conditions.