Meta under Fire: Dispute over Content Moderation in Kenya Escalates

A controversial case that could scrutinize Meta's approach to handling content moderators worldwide is currently attracting attention in Kenya. The conflict erupted following the dismissal of 185 content moderators, who were outraged by their termination at Sama, a Kenyan company moderating Facebook content. The moderators felt discriminated against as they were no longer considered for the same positions at the successor company, Majorel, after a change of contractor. Particularly sensitive: Moderators dealing with content from Ethiopia reported threats from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels. These rebels had threatened retaliatory actions after their content was removed from Facebook. Allegation: Sama did not take these threats seriously. One moderator described how insurgents threatened him and publicly disclosed his identity, significantly endangering his security. Although Sama eventually launched an investigation into the incidents and at least brought one moderator to safety, the case remained largely uncommented. Both Meta and the OLA refrained from public statements. An earlier attempt to settle out of court failed. Another intriguing detail from the court documents: Meta is said to have ignored advice from its own experts against hate speech in Ethiopia. Among others, one expert complained that she was trapped in an 'endless cycle of hateful content' due to a lack of deletion authorization. This raises fundamental questions about Meta's policies and their implementation, particularly regarding the moderation of potentially dangerous online content. The consequences of this case could impact Meta's entire practice of content moderation since the US corporation employs moderators worldwide who review graphic content on its platform.