Former Facebook Moderator Sues Meta For Poor Working Conditions And Impaired Mental Health

Facebook is being sued by a former employee for poor working conditions. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - A former moderator who worked for Facebook's owner, Meta Platforms Inc., filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, May 10. Daniel Motaung stated that the poor working conditions for contracted content moderators violated the Kenyan constitution.

The petition, which was also filed against local outsourcing company Meta, Sama, alleges that workers moderating Facebook posts in Kenya have been subjected to unreasonable working conditions including irregular pay, inadequate mental health support, union dissolution, and invasion of privacy. and their dignity.

The lawsuit, filed by one person on behalf of a group, seeks financial compensation, orders that outsourcing moderators have the same health care and salary scales as Meta employees, that union rights are protected, and an independent human rights audit in the office.

"We take people who review content for Meta seriously and ask our partners to provide industry-leading fees, benefits and support. We also encourage content reviewers to raise concerns when they become aware of them and regularly conduct independent audits to ensure our partners meet the high standards we expect," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters.

Sama declined to comment before seeing the lawsuit but has previously dismissed claims that his employees were being paid unfairly, that the recruitment process was unclear, or that his mental health benefits were inadequate.

The lawsuit's specific requests for action are more detailed and broad than those sought in previous cases and could resonate beyond Kenya.

“This could have a ripple effect. Facebook has a lot to say about how they run their moderation operations,” said Odanga Madung, a fellow at the Mozilla Foundation, a US-based global nonprofit dedicated to internet rights.

Globally, thousands of moderators review social media posts that may depict violence, nudity, racism, or other offensive content. Many work for third-party contractors rather than technology companies. Meta itself has faced scrutiny over the working conditions of content moderators.

Last year, a California judge approved an $85 million settlement between Facebook and more than 10,000 content moderators accusing the company of failing to protect them from psychological harm from exposure to graphic images and violence.

Facebook did not admit wrongdoing in the California case but agreed to take steps to provide its content moderators, who are employed by third-party vendors, with a safer working environment.

Violent Videos

The Kenyan lawsuit was filed on behalf of Daniel Motaung, who was recruited in 2019 from South Africa to work at Sama in Nairobi. Motaung said he was not given details about the nature of the work reviewing Facebook posts prior to his arrival.

The first video that Motaung remembers was moderating the beheading. The content is disturbing and piling up, but Motaung says his salary and mental health support is inadequate.

"I have been diagnosed with severe PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)," Motaung told Reuters. "I live ... horror movies."

Motaung's lawyer said that Meta and Sama created a dangerous and degrading environment in which workers were not afforded the same protection as employees in other countries.

"If in Dublin, people are not allowed to view harmful content for two hours, that should be the rule everywhere," said Motaung's lawyer, Mercy Mutemi. "If they need to have psychologists on call, that should apply everywhere."

Shortly after joining Sama, Motaung tried to form a union to advocate for the company's 200 workers in Nairobi.

He was fired soon after, which he and his lawyer say was due to the union's efforts. The rights of trade unions are recognized in the Kenyan constitution. Sama has not commented on these allegations.

Motaung's experience was first revealed in an investigation published by Time magazine in February.