A Kenyan court on Monday rejected an offer by Facebook parent company Meta to drop a case accusing Facebook of exploitation and poor working conditions.
The lawsuit was filed by a former content moderator at Sama, a company he hires Meta to check Facebook Post and alleges that workers in Kenya have been subjected to inhumane conditions, including forced labour, irregular pay and no right to unionise.
Meta applied to have the case dismissed, arguing that the local Labor and Industrial Relations Court had no jurisdiction as it is not based or operating in Kenya.
But High Court Judge Jacob Giveri dismissed the request on Monday.
“My finding is that (the) second and third defendants will not be exempted from the proceeding,” Gakeri said, referring to Meta Platforms and Meta Platforms Ireland.
The judge said the companies are “right parties” in the case and the court is now scheduled to meet on March 8 to discuss how to proceed at a hearing.
Meta was not immediately available for comment.
UK-based law firm Foxglove, which is supporting the case, said it was “extremely pleased” with the verdict.
“We think it is right that this trial should be heard in Kenya, where the abuse took place,” Foxglove director Cori Crider said in a statement.
Amnesty International Kenya also welcomed the decision, saying it was “a significant step that ensures the authority of Kenya’s courts to protect and enforce fundamental human rights”.
Meta has taken a close look at the working conditions of content moderators, who say they spend hours focusing on hateful, disturbing posts with no regard for their well-being.
The company faces another lawsuit in Kenya, filed by two individuals and a rights group, accusing the tech giant of failing to respond to hateful content on its platform, particularly around the war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
The petitioners are asking the court to set up a KES 200 billion (nearly Rs. 13,250 crore) compensation fund for victims of hate and violence incited on Facebook.
In late 2021, Rohingya refugees sued Facebook for US$150 billion (almost Rs.12,400) claiming the social network had failed to curb hate speech directed at them.
The Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority, were expelled by security forces in a crackdown in 2017 from Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh, which is now the subject of a UN genocide investigation.
AFP is involved in a partnership with Meta, which provides fact-checking services in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.
