Facebook parent company seeks settlement in lawsuit with Kenyan content moderators

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Facebook's parent company, Meta, opted for an out-of-court settlement Wednesday with content moderators who sued the company, alleging wrongful dismissal.

The Kenya Employment and Labour Relations Court granted the parties 21 days to "pursue an out-of-court settlement of this petition through mediation."

The dispute dates to earlier this year when Facebook moderators, based in Kenya, were terminated by Sama, a Kenyan company contracted by Meta for content moderation.

The 260 moderators were notified of their redundancy in January, which prompted them to launch a lawsuit against Meta in March, claiming the dismissals were unjust.

They contended that the redundancy decision was unlawful, as no valid or justifiable reasons were provided for the terminations.

The court said the 21-day window provided offers Meta and the content moderators an opportunity to find a mutually agreeable resolution without going to trial.

The order was officially endorsed by legal representatives acting on behalf of the plaintiffs, as well as Meta and Sama.

The case is linked to a $2 billion lawsuit filed by those who accused it of exacerbating ethnic violence in Kenya and neighboring Ethiopia.

Willy Mutunga, former Chief Justice of the Kenyan Supreme Court, along with labor commissioner Hellen Apiyo, have been appointed to oversee the mediation process in Meta's current dispute with content moderators.