A complaint filed by Daniel Motaung, a South African having worked as content moderator, describes “unworthy” working conditions and misleading hiring methods.
Le Monde
A former content moderator for Facebook in Kenya filed a complaint on Tuesday, May 10, against Meta, the parent company of the social network, which he accuses of exploitation. The complaint describes “unworthy” working conditions, misleading hiring methods, irregular and insufficient remuneration, lack of psychological support, pressure of yield and damage to privacy and dignity, in violation of the Kenyan constitution.
It was deposited by Daniel Motaung, a South African who worked for Sama, a subcontractor of Meta responsible for moderation of content on Facebook for countries in East Africa and Southern Africa – an essential activity to withdraw from the platform the problematic content (violence, harassment, disinformation …).
“The first video I saw was live beheading,” Motaung said on Tuesday at a press conference organized by Real Facebook Oversight Board, an anti-facebook association . “Imagine what it can do to a normal person if then you watch other videos, images and similar content every day,” continued the young man, who says he suffers from a post-traumatic syndrome.
“We take our responsibility seriously to people who examine content for META and demand from our partners that they provide wages, benefits and the best support in industry, reacted a carrier Word of Meta, contacted by AFP. We encourage moderators to talk about problems when they arise and we regularly lead independent audits to make sure that our partners meet high standards, in accordance with our expectations. “
“Take what you are given and close it”
According to Daniel Motaung and his lawyers, who say they represent 240 SAMA content moderators at the Nairobi office, the subcontractor recruits employees without telling them precisely what their work will be, evoking “administrative tasks”. The complaint ensures that Sama chooses the candidates according to their modest origins, on the pretext of getting them out of poverty, and coming from different countries so that they understand the different languages spoken on the continent and therefore on Facebook.
meta and sama “recruit moderators via fraudulent and deceptive methods, relating to the abuse of power, exploiting the vulnerability of young, poor and desperate candidates”, affirm lawyers in the judicial document: “Many have been hired and brought to Kenya before having understood the nature of their work […] They were therefore victims of trafficking in human beings according to a modern form of slavery prohibited by article 30 of the Constitution. “
“They told us that they could easily replace us. They said to us:” We do you a service […] take what you are given and close it “,” said Daniel Motaung. The complaint also details bad working conditions, not adapted to the difficulty and the arduousness of tasks, and non-compliance with the rights of employees, such as that of unionizing. Lawyers specify that Sama hires “well-being coaches” whose training is not sufficient for the needs of moderators in terms of mental health and who do not offer a “confidential relationship” to employees.
Two years ago, Facebook was ordered to pay $ 52 million to thousands of content moderators in the United States by way of compensation for trauma linked to their work.