Respect African content moderators, says Facebook whistleblower

The first video Daniel Motaung needed to watch whereas working as a Facebook content material moderator in Kenya was of a beheading. After simply six months on the job, his psychological well being was spiraling.

“I was actually dysfunctional. I wasn’t able to think properly,” Motaung, 31, advised the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Today, he’s suing Facebook’s proprietor Meta over the working circumstances he confronted and has helped arrange the primary African union for content material moderators whose day by day job includes reviewing graphic content material so social media customers are spared from seeing it.

“The entire (social media) business model is actually dependent on content moderation … It’s high time they recognise that and treat us with the respect we deserve,” he stated following the union’s launch final week throughout a gathering of Facebook, TikTok and ChatGPT moderators in Nairobi.

Globally, 1000’s of moderators evaluation posts containing graphic content material – holding dangerous materials from showing on customers’ feeds. Many work for third-party contractors somewhat than instantly for tech firms.

Motaung’s lawsuit, which was additionally filed towards Meta’s native outsourcing firm Sama, seeks monetary compensation, an order that outsourced moderators have the identical healthcare and pay scale as Meta workers, unionisation safety and an impartial human rights audit of the workplace.

Asked to touch upon the lawsuit’s allegations, a Sama spokesperson stated the corporate cared “deeply about the health and emotional well-being of our team” and disputed accusations of low pay and poor circumstances. A Meta spokesperson stated the corporate doesn’t touch upon ongoing litigation however solely works with contractors that guarantee above-average pay and well-being assist.

As Meta faces rising scrutiny over its content material moderation, Motaung’s lawsuit may have implications for a way the agency works with moderators worldwide, stated Cori Crider, a director at Foxglove, a London-based tech-justice advocacy group supporting the case.

“That’s the ambition of this case: to force Facebook to honour moderation work and make it safe and fair,” she stated in emailed feedback.

Flashbacks and insomnia

Motaung, who’s South African, stated he didn’t anticipate his college research on employees’ rights to come in useful when he accepted the content material moderation job in Nairobi in 2019, however quickly felt impelled to talk up in regards to the circumstances.

He recounted seeing colleagues fainting, crying and binge-drinking and listening to others complain of flashbacks and insomnia.

Most of Sama’s moderators had been paid lower than $2 per hour, however many caught with the job as a result of they had been made to really feel “expendable” and desperately wanted the work, Motaung stated.

The Sama spokesperson detailed well-being insurance policies together with necessary work breaks, limits on weekly hours and counselling classes, and stated wages had been excessive in native phrases.

“We recognize that content moderation is a tough job and have paid wages that are four-times the minimum wage and 2.5-times the living wage in Kenya as a recognition of the challenges of that work,” the spokesperson stated in an e mail.

Motaung, who was fired by Sama when he banded along with fellow moderators to problem working circumstances, stated he now noticed his major job as talking out about “the politics of content moderation”.

His activism has spurred additional authorized motion from content material moderators and world assist from rights teams. In March, 43 candidates stated they’re additionally suing Meta for dropping their jobs after organising a union.

His lawsuit can be seen as important as a result of a labour court docket dominated that the U.S.-based firm could possibly be sued within the East African nation – a judgment that Meta swiftly appealed.

“At the core of the case is a fundamental question: can the world’s richest tech firms operate in Kenya, and profit from workers in Kenya, while refusing to answer to Kenyan justice?” Crider stated.

“The answer to this question will set the terms of tech accountability in the region for years to come,” she stated.

Motaung, who was finally recognized with post-traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD), urged different content material moderators to talk up for his or her rights.

“There are support systems, there are organisations out there … that can help,” he stated.

“Or find me, send me a message … don’t die in silence,” he stated.