Inside Kenya’s Hidden Deals with Big Tech
Originally published by The Elephant — Read the original article →
When an outsourcing company working for Meta found itself being sued in Kenya, it took its problem to the President.
The dispute had begun in May 2022, when former Facebook content moderator Daniel Motaung sued Sama and Meta over working conditions. Another 43 moderators brought a case in March 2023. The workers had been employed by Sama to moderate Facebook content, work that required them to repeatedly view disturbing material. They argued that Meta, which ultimately benefited from and controlled aspects of their work, should also be held responsible.
Sama was not a minor contractor in Kenya. It was part of the labour pipeline that allowed a global technology company to outsource some of the most harmful work of the internet to Kenyan workers. Meta fought to remove itself from the litigation, arguing, among other things, that Kenyan courts did not have jurisdiction over the foreign company. But on 20 September 2024, the Court of Appeal rejected that argument.
