This is a new scandal that strikes the company led by Mark Zuckerberg. Indeed, the parent company of Facebook is under the fire of accusations “ human trafficking ” in Africa.
The complaint was filed this week and reveals serious dysfunctions within a subcontractor who operates for the American giant.
A case that could be expensive
Despite a change of identity made last October, Facebook has not gotten rid of criticism so far. In March, Meta employees protested the loss of some of their benefits they enjoyed in the United States. Unfortunately, it is a more embarrassing and highly serious matter that awaits Mark Zuckerberg and his teams.
It all started with a complaint filed by a former Facebook moderator in Kenya. Daniel Motaung was responsible for moderating unwanted content on the social network for the entire area of Eastern and Southern African countries. He had been hired by a contractor named Sama. He therefore points the finger at several major dysfunctions. This concerns in particular invasions of privacy, irregularities in the payment of remuneration, a lack of psychological support or even hiring methods deemed misleading by the principal concerned.
serious charges
The plaintiff and his lawyers explain that during a job interview, the Sana company did not stipulate precisely the missions that a new employee had to accomplish. The subcontractor was content to briefly mention simple “ administrative tasks and even chose the profile of the candidates according to their social class. For example, Motaung mentions the fact that Sama preferred to select people from a modest background in order to be able to boast of lifting them out of poverty.
Then, the former moderator mentions methods “ relating to the abuse of power “in order to exploit” the vulnerability of young, poor and desperate candidates “. He goes further by stating that since the company was bringing in workers without detailing their mission beforehand, the entity is in violation of article 30 of the Kenyan Constitution… Going so far as to qualify these practices “ human trafficking in a modern form of slavery “. And if the employees were not satisfied with their situation, the leaders would have simply explained that they could be “ easily replaced ” while retorting to them: “ Take what you’re given…and shut up “.
Meta explains… but struggles to convince
Of course, Meta’s management quickly spoke out via a press release, declaring that they take “seriously our responsibility to the people who review content for Meta and require our partners to provide industry-leading salaries, benefits and support “. All while encouraging abused moderators to speak up.
But like The world reminds us, Facebook is far from being exemplary in this area. The group was indeed ordered to pay 52 million dollars to its moderators two years ago. The latter demanded compensation for the trauma suffered during their moderation activity on violent / disturbing content posted by users of the social network.
Source : The world
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