Facebook - The African Mirror

May

10

2024

Kenya LGBTQ+ dating app blackmail cases go to court

LGBTQIA+

JOE smiled nervously from behind his shades as he emerged from the cramped wood-panelled magistrate's court in Kenya's capital Nairobi. The slim 24-year-old man, wearing black track pants and a grey hoodie, had just testified how he and his friend had been beaten and robbed by a man they had met on Facebook last year. "The perpetrator and the three friends who attacked us thought we wouldn't go to the police because we are gay," said Joe, who asked not to be identified by his real name, as he stood outside Milimani Law Courts last month. "If we are one…

Mar

06

2024

By JASPREET SINGH and ADITYA SONI

Meta’s Facebook, Instagram back up after global outage

NEWS

META-OWNED Facebook and Instagram were back up after a more than two-hour outage that was caused by a technical issue and impacted hundreds of thousands of users globally. The disruptions started at around 10 a.m. ET (1500 GMT), with many users saying on rival social media platform X they had been booted out of Facebook and Instagram and were unable to log in. The White House National Security Council was monitoring the incident and was not aware of any specific malicious cyber activity at this time, a spokesperson said. At the peak of the outage, there were more than 550,000…

Dec

08

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya judge finds Meta is not in contempt of court

NEWS

A Kenyan judge found Facebook's parent company Meta was not in contempt of court for failing to pay dozens of content moderators that a contractor laid off. Labour judge Mathews Nduma Nderi said Meta did not "deliberately and contemptuously" breach a court order requiring it to pay wages of hundreds of Facebook content moderators. "They did various things which they thought were lawful in trying to deal with their situation but we did not find that what they did amounted to contempt," Nderi said. This year, 184 moderators sued Meta and two contractors, saying their union organising efforts had cost them…

Oct

17

2023

By The African Mirror

Mediation collapses between Meta and Kenyan moderators, rights group says

NEWS

SETTLEMENTS talks have collapsed between Facebook's parent company Meta and Kenyan content moderators over a lawsuit alleging unfair dismissal, a tech rights group working with the moderators said. The 184 moderators sued Meta and two subcontractors earlier this year after they said they lost their jobs with one of the subcontractors, Sama, for organising a union. They say they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at a second firm, Majorel after Facebook changed contractors. In August, the court asked the parties to hold out-of-court settlement talks and said the case would proceed before it if those failed. British tech rights…

Jul

13

2023

By The African MIrror

Uganda imposes levy on foreign digital companies’ income

NEWS

UGANDA'S parliament late passed a new tax law that imposes a 5% levy on income earned in the country by foreign providers of digital communications services such as Twitter and Meta's Facebook. Authorities in the East African country have been exploring ways of tapping into the fast-expanding digital economy to help boost revenue needed to pay off mounting public debt. The Ugandan parliament said in a Twitter post that lawmakers had passed a new tax law called "The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023" containing the new levy. The new law "will also tax non-resident providers of digital services in Uganda such…

May

19

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisia detains two students over satirical song criticizing police

NEWS

TAREK AMARA TUNISIAN police arrested two students over a satirical song criticizing the police, their lawyer said on Wednesday, reinforcing fears of an erosion of freedom of speech after President Kais Saied seized most powers two years ago. Youssef Chelbi and Dhia Nsir posted a clip on Tik Tok and Facebook this week showing them laughing and singing a sarcastic song criticizing the police's treatment of detainees and a drugs law. Lawyer Imen Souissi said they are facing charges of insulting others through social networks and they could face up to a year in prison if the court finds them…

Feb

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Meta appeals Kenyan court’s decision it can be sued in Kenya

NEWS

FACEBOOK parent company Meta has filed an appeal in Kenya challenging a ruling that said the company could be sued in the East African country even though it has no official presence there. A Kenyan labour court earlier this month ruled that Meta could be sued in the country after a former content moderator filed a lawsuit alleging poor working conditions. In the appeal, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the U.S. company disputed the court's finding that Kenyan courts had jurisdiction over Meta. Meta outsourced its content moderation work via Sama, a U.S.-headquartered company with operations in Kenya. Sama said last month…

Feb

07

2023

By The African Mirror

Meta can be sued in Kenya by ex-content moderator, the country’s court rules

NEWS

A labour court in Kenya ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, can be sued in the East African country after a former content moderator filed a lawsuit against it alleging poor working conditions. The lawsuit was filed by one person on behalf of a group and was also filed against Meta's local outsourcing company Sama. It seeks financial compensation, an order that outsourced moderators have the same healthcare and pay scale as Meta employees, that unionisation rights be protected and an independent human rights audit of the office. The decision from Kenya's employment and labour relations court could have implications…

Jan

25

2023

By The African Mirror

Meta urged to boost Africa content moderation as contractor quits

NEWS

NITA BHALLA RIGHTS groups are calling on Meta Platforms to seize the opportunity to improve its content moderation in Africa after its main third-party contractor in the region said it would no longer screen harmful posts for the social media giant. Kenya-based outsourcing firm Sama said on January 10 it would no longer provide content moderation services for the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram in March as it moves to concentrate on data labelling work. Sama said it would be laying off 3% of its staff - about 200 employees - to streamline its operations and boost efficiency. It…

Jan

22

2023

By The African Mirror

Farmfluencers: Social media boost for farmers

NEWS

BIRD STORY AGENCY FRANCIS Muiruri, a 31-year-old Kenyan farmer, has found a new income stream on social media; selling information. As a digital consultant, he advises other farmers on successful service delivery on the farm. "I have been practising pig farming for 10 years and poultry farming for close to three years. I engage with current and potential farmers on Facebook and YouTube, and about three months ago, I joined Tik Tok. I have got a lot of exposure there," he explained. Despite living with a disability, the Thika-based, mixed-crop farmer appreciates the platform's role in commercializing his farming business.…