Kenyan court rejects Meta’s jurisdiction appeal, allowing content moderators’ case to proceed

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, lost its appeal in a Kenyan labour court on Friday, allowing a lawsuit filed by content moderators to move forward. The court ruled that Meta could be sued in Kenya over the mass dismissal of content moderators, a decision the company had challenged.

The case, brought by around 185 content moderators from several African countries who were employed by Meta’s contractor, Sama, in Nairobi, will now proceed in the labour court. The moderators are seeking compensation amounting to USD 1.6 billion, according to their lawyer, Mercy Mutemi, as reported by Associated Press.

This is one of two lawsuits Meta faces in Kenya. The first was filed by content moderator Daniel Motaung, who alleges that Facebook exploited him and his colleagues, severely impacting their mental health. The second case, brought by the 185 moderators, contests the termination of their employment contracts.

Both Facebook and Sama have defended their employment practices. However, some petitioners told AP  that their work involved viewing distressing content, such as acts of violence, for eight hours a day, leading to emotional trauma. They were paid 60,000 Kenyan shillings, or approximately USD 414 per month, and claimed that Sama failed to provide adequate counselling for the psychological toll of the job.

The lawsuit has gained support from Foxglove, a UK-based non-profit organisation. Foxglove’s director, Martha Dark, accused Meta of using “legal tricks to delay the case” and expressed optimism that justice would be achieved.

One of the former content moderators, James Irungu, hailed the court’s ruling as “a significant victory.”

An earlier attempt to settle the case out of court fell through in October 2023, after the moderators’ lawyer accused Facebook of insincerity.

This lawsuit marks the first known legal challenge against Facebook outside of the United States. In 2020, Facebook agreed to pay USD 52 million to US content moderators who had been exposed to highly disturbing content, including beheadings, child abuse, and terrorism, as part of a class action lawsuit.

(with inputs from AP)

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