After a case filed last month by 43 moderators at Facebook’s Nairobi hub against the business and its local partner Sama for wrongful termination, a Kenyan judge on Thursday decided that Facebook’s parent firm Meta (META.O) may be sued in Kenya.
Judge Matthews Nduma responded by issuing a temporary injunction against Meta and Sama preventing them from terminating the contracts of the moderators until a decision was made regarding the legitimacy of their redundancy.
According to Nduma’s statement on Thursday, “the court determines that this court has jurisdiction to decide the question of a claimed unlawful and unfair termination of employment on the basis of redundancy.”
The petition’s 184 moderators claim their dismissal was motivated by complaints they made about their working conditions and attempts to organise a union.
Juanita Jones, a petition moderator, stated, “I do this work because I believe in safeguarding people.
“Moderation is the frontline defence of the internet – and it is time to value the work like it, not treat it as some disposable, dead-end job,” Jones said.
The moderators say they were blacklisted from applying for the same roles at another outsourcing firm, Luxembourg-based Majorel, after Facebook switched contractors.
Meta, Sama and Majorel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
A Kenyan labour court in February ruled that Meta could be sued in the East African country after one former moderator at the Nairobi hub filed a lawsuit against it, alleging poor working conditions.
The cases could have implications for how Meta works with content moderators globally. The U.S. giant works with thousands of moderators around the world, tasked with reviewing graphic content posted on its platform.