A former Facebook content moderator is suing the parent company of the American social networking giant, Meta, for alleged unfavourable working conditions, and a Kenyan court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case.
Samasource Kenya EPZ, also known as Sama, is a local outsourcing company that has been the target of a petition alleging that its employees who moderate Facebook content are subjected to unfavorable working conditions, including low pay, insufficient mental health support, and invasions of privacy and dignity.
The court will determine if Meta can be tried in Kenya since the 12 petitioners were working for a third-party firm that it had outsourced for moderation services.
Meta made an application in June seeking to have the case thrown out arguing that the court had no jurisdiction to determine it – since the company is not based in Kenya.
Daniel Motaung’ is seeking financial compensation on behalf of current and former employees.
He also wants Meta and Sama to provide mental health support for moderators who spend hours reviewing graphic content.
The suit also seeks to compel third-party contractors to have the same benefits as Meta employees.
Meta has denied wrongdoing saying it takes seriously its responsibility to people who review content for the firm.
It says it requires its partners to provide industry-leading pay, benefits, and support.
According to court papers, Sama hosts the largest content moderation location in Africa with more than 200 staff.
In 2020, Facebook agreed to pay $52m (£46m) to content moderators based in the US after they filed a class-action lawsuit for being exposed repeatedly to graphic content such as beheadings, child and sexual abuse, terrorism, and animal cruelty.
Update: This case has been adjourned until 25 October
