A judge in Nairobi, Kenya ruled on Thursday that Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of social media sites like Facebook, is not in contempt of court for failure to pay dozens of content moderators that a contractor had laid off, according to Kenyan news source People Daily. Justice Mathews Nduma Nderi of the Employment and Labour Relations Court asserted that Meta employed lawful measures throughout the lawsuit to mitigate their situation, and none of these actions constituted contempt of court.

Over 180 content moderators urged the court to compel CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg to pay an accumulated total of Sh10 million per day since early March, when he allegedly disobeyed court orders. The moderators alleged wrongful termination as a result of their involvement in union-organizing efforts. Additionally, they asserted that they were barred from applying for similar roles by two subsidiaries under Meta following their organizing efforts.

Content moderation frequently requires navigating the most shadowing areas of the internet, sorting through a continuous stream of unsettling content, including extreme violence, child pornography and terrorist propaganda. An early March court filing disclosed that continuous exposure to such content has resulted in numerous moderators grappling with mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. In this regard, the moderators further asked the court to grant an order for medical, psychological and psychiatric care by Meta.

Meta previously encountered comparable accusations for neglecting to recognize and compensate a specific group of workers responsible for vital and often demanding tasks on behalf of the company. Meta continues to remain silent on the matter.