A lawyer on behalf of Facebook's parent company Meta will "crack the whip" against a black whistleblower in South Africa on Monday. And requested that the Gag Order be blocked. Because he talks to the media.
Whistleblower Daniel Motown was paid $ 2.20 per hour as a Facebook content moderator in Kenya. He was fired by Facebook's outsourcing partner Sama in 2019 after leading more than 100 colleagues in union activities for better wages and working conditions. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his work and is currently suing both Meta and Sama in a court in Nairobi. Union crushing. The experience of Motown at
Samawas first reported by TIMEin February 2022. Since then, he has spoken publicly about his trials, including the June 14thpanel discussionin London. At a hearing at the Labor Court in Kenya on June 27, alongside another Facebook whistleblower, Sama's lawyer Terry Mwango said Motown had his experience in the media and in public. He said talking about the risk of harming the proceedings. Mwango has requested a formal order to prevent Motaung and his lawyers from talking about the case in public.
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Meta lawyer Fred Ojiambo said We endorsed Mwango's request. "Unless the court suspends the petitioner, especially his defenders, from continuing to deal with this issue in this way, it is a complete and complete contempt not only for the proceedings, but also for the court and the judicial officers dealing with it. There is, "said Ojumbo.
To the judge, he added:
In court, Motaung's lawyer Mercy Mutemi dismissed allegations that the client violated Kenyan vice-trial rules, and he and his representatives detailed the case to comply with Kenyan law. He said he refrained from discussing in public. She said Meta and Sama did not provide evidence that a gag order was needed.
The judge refused to impose a gag order immediately, but asked Meta and Sama to file contempt of court if they could find supporting evidence.
Defenders of racial justice have accused Facebook of trying to silence Motaung. "In court, Facebook confirmed in the clearest way it could imagine that blacks were considered a controlled property, not a respected person," said the US-based civil rights group Color of Change. Rashad Robinson, President of the Company, said. , With a statement to TIME. "Treatment of blacks as second-class digital citizens and exploitative employees is a Facebook pattern, and selective silence of black whistleblowers only regulates them in line with 21st century labor standards. It proves that. "
The Color of Change states that it requires Meta to immediately withdraw the request for the Motaung decree.
"We need to allow black employees suffering under Facebook's'sweatshop'working conditions to whistle without silence. "Robinson said. "We were too long to be silenced by the whip that Facebook selectively forces blacks, such as users on the platform, users of advertising services, and employees of subcontractors. Now we need regulation.
Facebook requires employees to sign confidentiality agreements, but the company rarely attempts to explicitly silence publicly accused. Last year, Facebook whistleblower and white man Haugen, who leaked thousands of pages of internal documents, said he had never faced a similar attempt. "After coming out, I benefited from racial and gender issues," she said in a panel discussion with Motown last month. "I think it was very difficult for Facebook to come after me at this point because it would be a big PR responsibility for them. In our society, for example, the norms against choosing women. So I would like to fully acknowledge my privilege. "
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Meta did not respond to multiple requests for comments. Ojiambo did not respond to the request for comment. Motaung declined to comment through his lawyer. Mutemi declined to comment.
In an email, Sama's Chief Marketing Officer, Suzin Wold, said: Respecting the judge's orders and the fact that the case should be dealt with by the court is an important principle of Kenyan law that we are trying to respect. Given that, I can't comment any further.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook that he believed that "black life is important" after the racial justice opposition movement in the United States spread in 2020. I am. "I know Facebook needs to do more to support the equality and security of the black community through our platform."
Both Sama and Facebook, Motaung He did not answer the question asking if he plans to proceed with the formal legal requirement of the Gag Order.
In June, Sama CEO Wendy Gonzalez attended a conference in Toronto and was asked on stage about Motown's claims. "We support a feedback loop that includes everything from anonymous digital media whistleblowers to physical media," she said. "Therefore, in the end, all concerns need to be raised and addressed very seriously."
Billy Perrigo (billy.perrigo@time .com)