Kenya: Court Backs Facebook Moderators in Case Against Meta, Sama

By Correspondent

Nairobi — The Employment and Labour Relations Court has ruled in favour of 187 former Facebook content moderators in a case against Meta Platforms and outsourcing firm Sama over alleged labour rights violations.

The moderators, who reviewed harmful and disturbing content for Facebook, accused the companies of exposing them to traumatic material, subjecting them to poor working conditions and unfairly terminating their employment.

Meta has maintained it was not directly responsible for hiring or firing the workers, arguing that Sama handled employment. The workers have disputed this claim.

The case, filed in 2023 and consolidated with a 2022 petition by whistleblower Daniel Motaung, has become one of the most closely watched labour disputes in Kenya's digital economy.

In a key development, the court ordered Laura O'Hanlon, Meta's Director of Scaled Regulatory Response and WhatsApp Operations, to appear for cross-examination over an affidavit filed on behalf of the company and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited.

"I am happy that the case is progressing. As former Facebook content moderators, our mental health has really been suffering from what we were exposed to while working for Meta and Sama," one petitioner said.

"To date, we have not been receiving any mental health care, and for most of us, the situation is deteriorating. The longer the case takes, the direr our situation becomes. We hope for a quick conclusion to our case."

The court said a hearing date will be issued once the respondents appear, as the case moves to the next phase.

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