Kenyan court allows lawsuit against Meta over moderators’ termination

The court issued an interim injunction, preventing Meta and Sama from terminating the moderators’ contracts until a judgement is made on the legality of their redundancy.

Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg defeated claims that shareholders were misled about safety measures for children.

According to the ruling of a Kenyan judge, Meta could be sued in the country after 43 content moderators at its Nairobi Hub filed a lawsuit against the group and its local partner Sama for unfair termination. The moderators in the petition, who have now grown to 184, argue they were fired because they complained about working conditions and attempts to form a union.

The court issued an interim injunction against Meta and Sama, preventing them from terminating the moderators’ contracts until a judgement is made on the legality of their redundancy. The case may have implications for how Meta operates with content moderators globally, as its platform has thousands of moderators tasked with reviewing graphic content.

Previously, on 18 April, Kenya’s High Court ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to cut ties with its main content moderators in Kenya – Sama and Majorel.