Ex-Facebook moderator in Kenya sues over working conditions

A former Facebook moderator has filed a lawsuit against its owner, Meta Platforms, alleging poor working conditions for contracted content moderators violate the Kenyan constitution.

The lawsuit, filed by one person on behalf of a group, seeks financial compensation, an order that outsourced moderators get the same health care and pay scale as Meta employees, that unionisation rights be protected, and an independent human rights audit of the office.

Sama declined to comment before seeing the lawsuit but has previously rejected claims that its employees were paid unfairly, that the recruitment process was opaque, or that its mental health benefits were inadequate.

Globally, thousands of moderators review social media posts that could depict violence, nudity, racism or other offensive content. Many work for third-party contractors rather than tech companies.

Facebook did not admit wrongdoing in the California case but agreed to take measures to provide its content moderators, who are employed by third-party vendors, with safer work environments.

The Kenyan lawsuit was filed on behalf of Daniel Motaung, who was recruited in 2019 from South Africa to work for Sama in Nairobi. Motaung says he was not given details about the nature of the work reviewing Facebook posts before his arrival.

The first video Motaung remembers moderating was of a beheading. He says his pay and mental health support were inadequate to cope with the disturbing content.

He was fired soon after, which he and his lawyers say was because of the unionisation attempt. Union rights are enshrined in the Kenyan constitution. Sama has not commented on this allegation.