Kenyan Court Rules That Facebook Is Subject To Local Labour Laws

Facebook’s parent company, Meta, lost its appeal in a Kenyan labour court on Friday, allowing a lawsuit filed by former content moderators to proceed. The court upheld its earlier decision that Meta can be sued in Kenya over the dismissal of 185 content moderators employed by its Nairobi-based contractor, Sama.

The moderators, who worked for Sama, claimed they were fired for attempting to form a union and were later blocked from applying for similar roles with Meta’s new contractor, Majorel. They argue that this dismissal was unfair and are now demanding $1.6 billion in compensation.

Meta’s  attorney argued that Kenyan courts lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, suggesting that as an American company, it should not be subject to Kenyan laws. This stance raises concerns about digital colonialism, where multinational firms operate in African countries without being accountable to local legal systems, despite using local contractors to enforce their content policies as seen in this case.

The ruling by the Kenyan Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed Meta’s appeal, upholding the decision to allow the case to move forward.

In their judgment, the judges stated,

“The appellants’ (Meta) appeals are devoid of merit and both appeals are hereby dismissed with costs to the respondents.”

This case, according to Mercy Mutemi, the lawyer representing the dismissed moderators, could set a global precedent for how Meta and other tech companies handle content moderation.

“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,” Mutemi stated.

West Africa Weekly notes that the case sheds light on Meta’s broader practices in Africa. In a recent development, Meta suspended the accounts of African Stream, a pan-African digital media organisation, following unsubstantiated accusations by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who claimed the media outlet was sponsored by Russia.

Meta and Majorel have not yet commented on the court’s decision, but Kenya’s ruling should signal to foreign companies that they cannot sidestep local regulations while benefiting from the labour and resources of African nations.

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