Meta, Facebook's parent company, is again trying to evade justice in Kenya

Meta, Facebook's parent company, is accused of unfair dismissal, among others, by a Kenyan subcontractor, Sama. REUTERS - DADO RUVIC

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2 min

Meta is being sued by dozens of former content moderators employed by Sama, Facebook's subcontractor. They accuse both companies of "unfair dismissal" and "anti-union" manoeuvres. But Facebook says the Kenyan judiciary is not competent to judge this case. This is what his lawyers argued during a hearing in Nairobi on Thursday.

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With our correspondent in Nairobi, Florence Morice

Should Facebook be held accountable to the Kenyan justice system for the actions of its subcontractor Sama? "No"! plead the lawyers of the social network. They argue that Facebook is not registered as a business in Kenya and does not operate in the country. Admittedly, the social network has subcontractors in Kenya, but nothing, according to these lawyers, proves the existence of an "employee-employer" relationship between Facebook's parent company, Meta, and the plaintiffs.

For their part, the moderators intend to demonstrate that despite this outsourcing scheme, it is Facebook that sets the conditions of their employment relationship and that as such, the web giant is therefore responsible. They also rely on a decision handed down earlier this year by the Kenyan judiciary in another proceeding. The one launched by former moderator Daniel Motaung who accuses Facebook of having "exploited.

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Here too, Facebook has questioned the jurisdiction of the Kenyan judiciary. In February, his arguments were rejected and an appeal is pending. On Thursday, many complainants, former moderators attended the hearing. The hearing was even interrupted by a former moderator, who took the floor to ask to be associated with the complaint. 43 At the beginning, the complainants are now 184.

The judge promised to make his decision on whether the court has jurisdiction to try the case against Facebook on Thursday, April 20, a week from now. In total, Meta is the subject of 3 lawsuits, including one filed by two Ethiopians and a researcher claiming that during the war in Tigray, Facebook failed to filter hate speech, and sometimes even encouraged it, thus contributing to inflaming the conflict.

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  • Kenya
  • Social Media
  • Internet
  • Justice