A Kenyan court on Monday threw out Facebook’s parent company Meta, which was seeking to have a lawsuit brought by a former employee of a subcontractor over working conditions dismissed.
The complaint was filed by a former content moderator who worked for Sama, a Meta contractor responsible for reviewing messages posted on Facebook. He claims the Kenyan-based staff work in inhumane conditions, citing forced labor, irregular wages and a lack of union representation rights.
Meta sought to quash the case, arguing that the local labor market court had no jurisdiction in the matter because the US group has no presence in Kenya and has no business. But High Court Judge Jacob Gakeri denied the request.
“My decision is that the second and third defendants should not be removed from the proceedings,” Gakeri said, referring to Meta Platforms and its subsidiary Meta Platforms Ireland as “full parties.” Meta was not immediately available to comment on this decision.
a welcome decision
The next step is planned for March 8, in particular to organize a hearing. UK-based legal activist firm Foxglove, which is supporting the complaint, said it was “extremely pleased”. “We believe it is appropriate that this trial takes place in Kenya, where the abuse occurred,” Foxglove director Cori Crider said in a statement.
The NGO Amnesty International Kenya also welcomed this decision: it is an “important step that affirms the authority of the Kenyan courts to protect and uphold fundamental human rights.” Meta has come under fire for the working conditions of content moderators who say they spend hours reviewing hateful and potentially disturbing posts with no regard for their well-being.
AFP participates in about thirty countries in “Third party fact-checking”, a third-party verification program developed by Facebook since 2016. Some sixty media from around the world are also part of this program.
Source: BFM TV
