Meta’s Biggest African Content Moderator Partner Ends Contract

Sama, the primary subcontractor for content moderation for Meta in Africa, declared earlier on Tuesday that its hub in Kenya will be the final destination for its content moderation division due to the need to consolidate operations.

This comes just after another lawsuit demanded that Meta increase its capability for content monitoring in Kenya, and months after Sama and Meta were sued in the East African nation for violating labor laws and exploitation.

Sama announced that 200 employees, or 3% of its workforce, would be let go as the company shifted its focus from content assessment services to labeling tasks (computer vision data annotation).

A chunk is reportedly left without work permits as the corporation sourced moderators from all around Africa. Sama’s moderators had to comb through social media messages on all of its platforms, including Facebook, to delete those that incited and spread hate, false information, and violence.

According to reports, Sama urged affected employees to apply for other positions at its locations in Kenya and Uganda.

According to a Financial Times story, the social media behemoth has hired Luxembourg-based Majorel to fill the void because “the current economic context necessitates more effective and streamlined corporate procedures.”

The choice to terminate Meta’s contract, which expires at the end of March, comes months after Daniel Motaung, a South African national and former Sama content moderator, filed a lawsuit against the two companies in Kenya last year, accusing them of forced labor and human trafficking, unfair labor practices, union-busting, failing to provide “adequate” mental health and psychosocial support, and other claims.

Sama’s choice coincides with Meta being the target of yet another lawsuit in Kenya over allegations that it failed to take adequate security precautions on Facebook, which in turn encouraged conflicts that resulted in the deaths of many people, including 500,000 Ethiopians during the recently ended Tigray War.

The lawsuit claims the social site amplified hateful content and failed to hire enough personnel with an understanding of local languages to moderate content.