A Kenyan court of appeal ruled Friday that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, can be sued in Kenya over the dismissal of dozens of content moderators.
The decision opens the door for a legal battle between Meta and the moderators, who claim wrongful termination.
Mercy Mutemi, the moderators’ lawyer, praised the ruling, stating that the court upheld the Employment Court’s decision allowing the lawsuit against Meta.
Meta had previously argued that as a foreign company, it could not be sued in Kenya, but the court rejected this claim.
The case follows an out-of-court settlement last year when Meta reached an agreement with a similar group of moderators over unjust dismissal.
The dispute began when 260 Kenyan content moderators, hired by Sama, Meta’s contractor, were abruptly told of their redundancy in March 2023.
The moderators subsequently sued Meta, arguing their terminations were unjustified and unlawful.
This isn’t Meta’s first legal challenge in Kenya. In December 2022, the company faced a $2 billion lawsuit over claims of fueling ethnic violence in Kenya and Ethiopia.
