Meta Can Be Sued in Kenya for Firing Dozens of Content Moderators, Court Rules

A Kenyan court has ruled that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, can be sued in Kenya over the dismissal of dozens of content moderators.

The moderators, who were employed by Sama, a Kenya-based contractor, claim they were fired for attempting to form a union. They were later blocked from applying for similar roles with Majorel, Meta’s new contractor.

Friday’s decision by the Court of Appeal upholds earlier rulings, allowing Meta to face trial for alleged unfair dismissals and poor working conditions.

“The upshot of our above findings is that the appellants’ (Meta’s) appeals … are devoid of merit and both appeals are hereby dismissed with costs to the respondents,” the judges at the Court of Appeal ruled.

According to Mercy Mutemi, one of the lawyers representing the dismissed content moderators, this case could set a global precedent for how Meta handles content moderators.

“Meta being sued in Kenya is a wake-up call for all Big Tech companies to pay attention to the human rights violations taking place along their value chains,” she said.

This came days after Meta banned African Stream from all its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Threads, over alleged ties to Russia.

Meta and Majorel have yet to comment on the ruling.

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