A Kenyan court decided on Friday that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, can be sued in Kenya regarding the termination of several content moderators by a contractor.
Last year, the moderators filed a lawsuit against Meta and two local contractors, claiming they were fired from Sama, a firm hired to manage Facebook content, for attempting to form a union. They also alleged that they were subsequently blacklisted from reapplying for similar positions at another company, Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors. Efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement failed in October 2023.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling confirmed an earlier decision from a Kenyan labor court in April 2023, which stated that Meta could face trial over the moderators’ terminations, a decision Meta had appealed. It also upheld a ruling from February 2023 that allowed for a lawsuit against Meta in Kenya regarding poor working conditions, which Meta also contested.
“The conclusion of our findings is that the appellants’ (Meta’s) appeals are without merit and both appeals are dismissed, with costs awarded to the respondents,” stated the three judges in their ruling on Friday.
