Content moderators sue Meta over alleged ‘union-busting’ in Kenya

On Monday, a rights group stated that Facebook content moderators in Kenya are taking legal action against Meta (formerly Facebook) and two outsourcing firms for wrongful redundancy. The 43 applicants allege that they lost their jobs with Sama, a firm in Kenya that moderates Facebook content, because they formed a union. They further claim that they were prevented from applying for similar roles at Majorel, another outsourcing firm, after Facebook switched its contractors.

Last month, Meta filed an appeal in Kenya, contesting a court ruling that indicated that the company could face a lawsuit brought by a moderator over alleged poor working conditions, even though it has no official presence in the East African nation. These court cases could have implications for how Meta collaborates with content moderators globally, as the company partners with thousands of moderators worldwide who evaluate graphic content shared on its platform.

Cori Crider of Foxglove, a technology rights group supporting the latest lawsuit said, “This is a union-busting operation posing as a mass redundancy. You can’t just switch suppliers and tell recruiters not to hire your workers because they are ‘troublemakers’ – meaning that they have the audacity to stand up for themselves.”

Meta, Majorel, and Sama have not responded immediately to requests for comment. The 260 Facebook content moderators in Nairobi were notified in January that they would be laid off by Sama, the outsourcing company that has run the office since 2019, according to Foxglove. The moderators allege that Meta instructed Majorel not to employ any moderators previously engaged by Sama, according to the court petition.

The moderators explained in their application, “The redundancy being undertaken is unlawful because no genuine nor justifiable reason was given for the redundancy. The moderators have been given varying and confusing explanations for the redundancy which do not add up.”

(Reporting by Aaron Ross and Ayenat Mersie; Writing by Hereward Holland, editing by Ed Osmond)

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