Kenyan Facebook content moderators form union

Kenyan digital content moderators from giant multinational tech platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and TikTok have formed a labor union that they say will help push for better working conditions.

At a summit in Nairobi on Monday, 200 content moderators from Sama and Majorel — the companies that serve Facebook, TikTok and YouTube — called for an end to what they say the tech giants’ persistent mistreatment of their workers, and regretted doing so. I worked for a long time without a clear job identity.

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“I applied for a content supervisor position, but to my surprise when I signed my contract I learned I was being hired for a customer service role,” said one content moderator.

The formation of the lobby comes against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed by 43 Facebook content moderators hired by Sama on behalf of the US tech company in Kenya, accusing social media parent Meta of unfair dismissal after issuing redundancy notices in January. .

According to the lawsuit papers, Meta went ahead and engaged Majorelle to hire new content moderators as replacements in a move that put the livelihoods of at least 260 moderators at risk.

However, a court in Nairobi stopped the demobilization plan in March until the case could be heard and decided.

Monday’s event brought together mediators from 14 different African languages ​​who agreed to form a consortium to address emerging issues in the trade.

Content management is in a state of crisis, said Daniel Motaung, a former content director who was fired after trying to lead the lobbying effort.

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“They are the first line of defense against harmful content, yet they face dangerous working conditions without pay,” he said. “Mental health support is sorely lacking, job security is scarce, and some moderators feel silenced by strict non-disclosure agreements.” .

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