Former Facebook Content Moderator in Kenya Sues Company Over Poor Working Conditions
- The South African, Daniel Motaung, was recruited in 2019 by Sama, a Facebook local outsourcing company in Nairobi
- Motaung argued in his petition that he was not informed about the kind of job he was coming to do in Kenya, only to learn later it was content moderation
- He decried poor pay, and psychological and mental torture resulting from disturbing content he monitored at Meta
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see YEN.com.gh News on your News Feed!
Former Facebook worker Daniel Motaung has sued the company over poor working conditions.
Source: UGC
Motaung was fired after raising concerns about forming a worker union at Sama, Meta's local outsourcing company in Nairobi, Kenya.
Working conditions
In a petition filed at Milimani court, Motaung argued Facebook content moderators in Kenya are subjected to unreasonable working conditions, which is against the country's employment policies enshrined in its constitution.
Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with all major Ghana news
The South African cited irregular pay, inadequate mental health support, union-busting, and violations of workers' privacy and dignity.
He sued Meta and Sama, seeking financial compensation, the same health care and pay scale, and protection from the union, adding that the office should be subjected to an independent human rights audit.
According to a statement by Foxglove, a London-based legal nonprofit that supports Facebook content moderators, Motaung called upon the court "to order Facebook and its outsourcing companies to end exploitation in its Nairobi moderation hub.”
Misleading job ads
Sama hired Moutang in 2019 without a proper description of the job and he later learned it was content moderation when he reviewed a disturbing video on Facebook.
“When I went to Kenya, I went to Kenya because I wanted to change my life. I wanted to change the life of my family. I came out a different person, a person who has been destroyed.”
The company is accused of recruiting people from poor backgrounds in Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and other countries in Africa with “misleading job ads”.
The petition also stated that it fails to disclose the nature of the work to prepare the moderators psychologically and ends up exposing them to mental health problems.
“We found a lot of Africans were forced into forced labour situations and human trafficking. When you leave your country for a job that you didn’t apply for, that amounts to human trafficking," said Mercy Mutemi, Motaung's lawyer.
According to the Guardian, Meta said it is responsible for taking care of content moderators and requires its partners to offer good working conditions to them.
“We take our responsibility to the people who review content for Meta seriously and require our partners to provide industry-leading pay, benefits and support. We also encourage content reviewers to raise issues when they become aware of them and regularly conduct independent audits to ensure our partners are meeting the high standards we expect,” said Meta's spokesman.
Sama refused to comment on the issue, dismissing claims that its working conditions were unfavourable to workers.
This is not the first time Meta is sued by workers for exposure to poor conditions and disturbing content.
Washington Post reported that in 2020, agreed to pay $52 million (over KSh 6 billion) to the US content moderators who filed a lawsuit for repeatedly being exposed to dirty content.
Rihanna Introduces Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin Products to Ghana and 7 Other African Countries
In a separate story, YEN.com.gh reported Rihanna has announced plans to launch her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin brands in Africa, including Ghana. On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, the American-based beauty mogul and hitmaker said the brands would become available to eight African countries.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment! Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin are finally dropping in Africa,” she said in a Facebook post.
According to Rihanna, the products will be available in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe starting May 27, 2022.
Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in
Source: YEN.com.gh
Aba Afful (Copyeditor) Maame Aba serves as a copy editor at YEN.com.gh. She naturally enjoys working with words and has an eye for quality content. She has a keen interest in cyberspace and wants to see YEN.com.gh produce more impactful, thought-provoking, and error-free content. Aba has five years of experience as a content writer, blogger, author, and proofreader. She graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2017. She joined the team in 2021.
George Nyavor (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) George Nyavor writes for YEN.com.gh. He has been Head of the Politics and Current Affairs Desk since 2022. George has over 9 years of experience in managing media and communications (Myjoyonline and GhanaWeb). George is a member of the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners Ghana (CAMP-G). He obtained a BA in Communications Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2010. Reach out to him via george.nyavor@yen.com.gh.
