Mediation Between Meta and Content Moderators in Kenya Failed, Here's Why

Mercy Mutemi, lawyer for the Facebook plaintiffs in Kenya. (photo: twitter @MercyMutemi)

JAKARTA - Settlement discussions (mediation) between Facebook's parent company, Meta Platform Inc., and a Kenyan content moderator have failed in a lawsuit alleging unfair dismissal. This was revealed by a technology rights group working with moderators on Monday, October 16.

A total of 184 moderators sued Meta and two subcontractors earlier this year after they claimed they lost their jobs with one of the subcontractors, Sama, for organizing a union. They said they were later barred from applying for the same role at a second company, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors.

In August, the court asked the parties to negotiate an out-of-court settlement and said the case would proceed in court if those efforts failed.

British technology rights group Foxglove said in a statement on Monday that the negotiations had failed. They accused Meta and Sama of making "little effort to address the core issues raised by the plaintiffs."

"The respondents are just buying time and are not sincere. We keep waiting for them to participate... only for them to keep asking for an extension of time and then every time refuse to take responsibility," the statement quoted Mercy Mutemi, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, as saying from Reuters.

Meta declined to comment, as did Sama and Majorel.

Meta has previously responded to allegations of a poor working environment in Kenya by saying it needed partners to provide industry-leading conditions.

Sama said that they always follow Kenyan laws and provide mental health services to their employees. In August, Majorel said it did not comment on matters involving ongoing litigation.

The moderators also claimed that Meta tried to terminate their contract by defying previous court orders. A hearing on their petition to find Meta and Sama in contempt of court is scheduled for October 31, Foxglove said.

Meta has also been sued in Kenya by a moderator over alleged poor working conditions at Sama, and by two Ethiopian researchers and a rights group, who accused the company of allowing hateful and violent posts from Ethiopia to flourish on Facebook.

In response, Meta said in December last year that hate speech and incitement to violence violated the rules of its Facebook and Instagram platforms.