African Workers Are Taking on Meta – And the World Should Pay Attention
A landmark legal battle unfolding in Kenya could set a global precedent, holding Meta – the world’s largest social media company – accountable for workers’ rights violations not only in Africa, but around the world.
In 2025, Meta has adopted an increasingly defiant tone on whether it should be held responsible for the real-world harm its platforms contribute to. This shift, widely seen as an effort to align with the returning Trump administration, was underscored by CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement in January that Meta would end third-party fact-checking.
“We are going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world going after American companies and pushing to censor more,” Zuckerberg said in a video message, giving Meta’s product decisions a distinctly geopolitical twist.
To justify its rollback of content moderation, Meta invokes the U.S. Constitution and its protection of free speech. But in countries like Kenya, where I represent a group of former Meta content moderators in a class-action lawsuit, constitutional frameworks tell a different story. Many post-colonial nations, including Kenya, have constitutions that place a clear emphasis on protecting fundamental human rights—precisely because of past experiences with exploitation and abuse under colonial rule.
These constitutions are now being used to confront the global tech industry’s long-standing impunity.
In a groundbreaking ruling in September 2024, the Kenyan Court of Appeal affirmed that content moderators could sue Meta in the country’s labour courts. Though underreported in the West, this ruling marked a significant turning point. Meta clearly recognized its implications, fighting the decision in court and mobilizing diplomatic pressure in its aftermath. The company has since signaled its intention to appeal to Kenya’s Supreme Court.
Like many U.S. tech giants, Meta relies on a tangled web of subsidiaries and outsourcing arrangements to shield itself from local regulations, taxes, and accountability—despite operating at scale in countries around the world. In Kenya, for example, Meta claims it never directly employed the workers who moderated content on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger from 2019 to 2023. Instead, it points to Sama, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company based in Nairobi, as the sole employer.
The case now before Kenyan courts argues otherwise. Former content moderators were hired by Sama but worked exclusively on Meta platforms. They describe being misled about the nature of the work, expecting call centre or translation jobs. Instead, they were immersed in a brutal content moderation hub, forced to view violent and traumatic content daily—often from their own regions and communities.
These workers acted as the first and last line of defense against harmful content on Meta’s platforms. Many viewed their work as meaningful, even noble. But the psychological toll was devastating. Over 140 former moderators have since been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, or anxiety linked to their experiences. When some tried to unionize and demand better mental health support, they were met with mass layoffs. Meta quietly shifted its moderation operations elsewhere, leaving behind hundreds of traumatised workers and a trail of unresolved human rights abuses.
Throughout the ongoing litigation, Meta has repeatedly insisted it holds no responsibility for these workers. Meanwhile, it continues efforts to influence policy behind the scenes. In March 2024, Meta’s then-president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, led a delegation to meet Kenyan President William Ruto, reportedly to discuss future tech partnerships—including the promise of an AI-powered future for Africa.
Just months earlier, at a December townhall, Ruto told Sama representatives: “Now we have changed the law, so no one can ever take you to court again on any matter.” He was referring to a bill passed by parliament that effectively shields Big Tech companies from lawsuits like the one brought by the moderators.
These moves reflect a broader attempt to dodge accountability for the consequences of Meta’s products and labour practices. But despite these obstacles, the Kenyan court’s decision to allow the case to go to trial is a major victory—and a beacon of hope for tech workers globally.
This legal breakthrough is thanks in large part to the progressive nature of post-independence constitutions, especially in post-colonial countries where human dignity and protections from exploitation are enshrined as paramount values.
As our case moves forward in Kenya, we hope it sparks similar efforts in other nations where tech workers continue to be exploited and silenced. Free speech may be a cornerstone of democratic life, but so too are the rights to fair labour, dignity, and protection from harm. It’s time Big Tech was reminded of that.
