Kenya court finds Meta can be sued over moderator layoffs

A Kenyan court ruled on Friday that Facebook’s parent company Meta could be sued in the East African nation.

A Kenyan court ruled on Friday that Facebook's parent company Meta could be sued in the East African nation over the dismissal of dozens of content moderators by a contractor.

Last year the content moderators sued Meta and two contractors, saying they lost their jobs with Sama, a Kenya-based firm contracted to moderate Facebook content, for trying to organise a union.

They said they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at another firm, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors.

Out-of-court settlement talks between the moderators and Meta collapsed in October last year.

The case could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. giant works with moderators around the world tasked with reviewing graphic content posted on its platform.

Friday's decision by the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling by a Kenyan labour court in April 2023 that Meta could face trial over the moderators' dismissals, which Meta appealed.

It also upheld a separate ruling in February 2023 that Meta could be sued in Kenya over alleged poor working conditions, which Meta also appealed.