Checking on the Progress of Content Moderators in Africa

<p>For the past two years, there has been a steady stream of news out of Kenya about the relationships between major tech firms – including <a href="https://time.com/6147458/facebook-africa-content-moderation-employee-treatment/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meta</a>, <a href="https://time.com/6293271/tiktok-bytedance-kenya-moderator-lawsuit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a> and <a href="https://time.com/6247678/openai-chatgpt-kenya-workers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OpenAI</a> – and outsourcing firms like Sama and Majorel that have employed content moderators on their behalf. In the spring of this year, more than 150 moderators <a href="https://time.com/6275995/chatgpt-facebook-african-workers-union/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> the formation of the African Content Moderators Union, which advocates for better pay and working conditions, and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/16/meta-settlement-talks-with-kenyan-content-moderators-break-down-facebook" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> against Meta is working its way through Kenya’s courts. This month will see an important ruling in that case. </p><p>To learn more about the situation on the ground and what it’s been like for the individuals involved in this fight while the legal progress unfolds, <strong>Justin Hendrix</strong> spoke to <strong>Njenga Kimani</strong>, a researcher at Siasa Place, a youth-led, prodemocracy NGO based in Nairobi, and three moderators who’ve worked on platforms including TikTok, Meta, and OpenAI: <strong>James Oyange Odhiambo, Sonia Kgomo, </strong>and<strong> Richard Mathenge</strong>.</p>