Facebook loses jurisdiction appeal in Kenyan court paving the way for moderators' case to proceed
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI
Posted 9/20/24
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Facebook ’s parent company Meta on Friday lost its appeal in a Kenyan labor court that ruled the company could be sued in Kenya over the mass sacking of content …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Facebook loses jurisdiction appeal in Kenyan court paving the way for moderators' case to proceed
FILE - In this May 16, 2012, file photo, the Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile device in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Posted
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Facebook ’s parent company Meta on Friday lost its appeal in a Kenyan labor court that ruled the company could be sued in Kenya over the mass sacking of content moderators.
The court had earlier ruled that Kenyan courts had jurisdiction over the matter, but Meta challenged the ruling on appeal.
The case filed by some 185 content moderators from different African countries who were working for a Meta contractor, Sama, in Nairobi will now proceed in the labor court, their lawyer, Mercy Mutemi, said Friday. They are seeking $1.6 billion in compensation.
Facebook is facing two lawsuits in Kenya, the first one filed by content moderator Daniel Motaung who alleges the company exploited him and his colleagues and damaged their mental health. The second case filed by 185 moderators challenges the termination of their employment contracts.
Facebook and Sama have defended their employment practices.
The Kenyan workers' case is supported by U.K.-based non-profit organization Foxglove whose director, Martha Dark, said Meta had played “legal tricks to delay the case” and expressed hope that justice would be served.
James Irungu, one of the 185 former Facebook content moderators bringing the case, said the ruling was “a significant victory.”
An out-of-court settlement agreed on in court collapsed in October 2023 after what the moderators’ lawyer termed as insincerity by Facebook.
The lawsuit is the first known court challenge of its kind against Facebook outside the United States. In 2020, Facebook agreed to pay $52 million to U.S. content moderators who filed a class action lawsuit after they were repeatedly exposed to beheadings, child and sexual abuse, animal cruelty, terrorism and other disturbing content.