Facebook parent Meta Platforms’ biggest content moderator in Africa, Sama, is ending its services to the US tech giant following lawsuits related to its treatment of workers and handling of hate speech in the region.
Meta is currently being sued in Kenya’s high court in a US$2-billion (R34-billion) lawsuit in which petitioners are demanding Meta invests more heavily in content moderation focused on Africa and create a restitution fund for victims of hate and violence incited by content shared on Facebook.
This case follows separate, ongoing legal proceedings, in which a content moderator working at the subcontractor’s Nairobi office accused Sama and Facebook of exploitation.
“We respect Sama’s decision to exit the content review services it provides to social media platforms,” said a Meta spokesman in an e-mailed response to questions. “We’ll work with our partners during this transition to ensure there’s no impact on our ability to review content.”
Sama did not respond to a request for comment.
Meta employs thousands of content moderators around the world to review potentially harmful content including graphic violence, hate speech, child abuse and misinformation on Facebook and Instagram. — (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP