In a David versus Goliath battle, Facebook’s parent company Meta just got a reality check from a Kenyan court. The tech giant can be sued in Kenya over the dismissal of content moderators who dared to unionize. It’s a ruling that could send shockwaves through the global content moderation industry.
Here’s the lowdown: Last year, a bunch of content moderators sued Meta and two contractors after losing their jobs with Sama, a Kenyan firm that did Meta’s dirty work of sifting through the nastiest content on the platform. To add insult to injury, they claim they were blacklisted from similar roles with another company, Majorel, when Meta switched contractors.
Meta tried to wriggle out of it, but the Kenyan Court of Appeal wasn’t having it. They upheld earlier rulings that not only can Meta face trial over the firings, but they can also be sued for poor working conditions. Ouch.
This is not just about a few jobs in Kenya. It is a potential game-changer for how Big Tech handles its global army of content moderators – the unsung heroes who keep our social media feeds from turning into complete cesspools.
Meta’s usual “it wasn’t us, it was the contractor” defense is wearing thin. As one lawyer put it, it is a “wake-up call” for all tech giants to pay attention to human rights violations along their value chains.
With the legal roadblocks cleared, 185 moderators are gearing up for their day in court. Meta’s African adventure just got a lot more complicated.