Addis Abeba- Amnesty International has welcomed a ruling by the High Court of Kenya that determined it has jurisdiction to hear a case against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, over allegations that the platform contributed to "ethnic violence and killings" during the two-year war in Ethiopia's Tigray region.
The case, which seeks a $2.4 billion (approximately £1.8 billion) "restitution fund" for victims of hate and violence allegedly incited on Facebook, was brought by Ethiopians Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, alongside the Katiba Institute, a Kenya-based constitutional research organization.
The petitioners accuse Meta of "promoting harmful content" and allege that the platform's algorithm "amplified inciteful, hateful, and dangerous content," which they argue contributed to serious human rights violations during the war.
Abrham Meareg alleges that his father, Meareg Amare, a university professor at Bahir Dar University, was killed after "inciteful posts" targeting him circulated on Facebook in November 2021. "I am grateful for the court's decision today," Abrham told the Guardian, adding, "It is disgraceful that Meta would argue that they should not be subject to the rule of law in Kenya. African lives matter."
Fisseha Tekle, a former Amnesty International researcher, says he was also targeted with online hate for his human rights work in Ethiopia. "Meta cannot undo the damage it has done," he said, but added that the company "can radically change how it moderates dangerous content across all its platforms to make sure no one else has to go through what I have."
The ruling follows earlier reporting by Amnesty International, which documented what it described as Meta's failure to act on "dehumanizing and ethnically targeted content" during the war. The organization said Meta ignored repeated warnings from local civil society groups, with one member of its trusted partner program describing the company as "extremely slow" to respond to alerts and lacking "contextual understanding."
Among the cases cited by Amnesty was that of Professor Meareg, whose name, workplace, and home address were shared online before he was killed. His story was featured in Addis Standard's print publication in November 2022. Another case was that of Freweyni Hetsay, who also lost her father and brother after hate speech and incitement to violence spread on the platform. She later shared her experience with Addis Standard, describing the devastating impact of the attacks on her family.
In its ruling, the Court stated that it had jurisdiction to hear the case because it involves determining "whether a right has been violated" and requires the Court to "interpret the constitution." The ruling also referenced Section 165 of the Kenyan Constitution, which mandates that matters raising "substantial questions of law" be heard by an uneven number of judges. The case has been referred to Kenya's Chief Justice for the appointment of a bench.
Following the decision, Mandi Mudarikwa, Head of Strategic Litigation at Amnesty International, said the ruling is "a positive step" and "paves the way for justice," noting that it challenges what she described as "an era of impunity" for large technology companies. She stated that victims of corporate human rights abuses "often struggle to access justice," partly because companies such as Meta "use their terms of service to restrict jurisdiction to courts out of reach."
Mudarikwa added that the ruling "offers hope that marginalized groups can access justice no matter where they are in the world," and urged tech companies to "abide by their responsibilities" and "prioritize human rights over profit."
Meta has challenged the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts, asserting that its "terms of service restrict claims against the company" to U.S. courts. Following the ruling, Meta's legal representatives "sought permission to appeal" and continued efforts to "have the case dismissed."
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The lawsuit has received support from multiple human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Global Witness, Article 19, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission. These groups, which joined the case as interested parties, argue that "Facebook's algorithms amplified harmful content," resulting in "real-world harm and violations of fundamental rights."
The case follows earlier legal actions involving Meta in Kenya, including lawsuits filed by former Facebook content moderators over alleged unlawful dismissal, as well as a separate case brought by Daniel Motaung, a former moderator who is suing Meta for what he describes as "union-busting" and seeking accountability for mental health issues he says he suffered while on the job.
