Pallade Veneta - Lawyers probe 'dire' conditions for Meta content moderators in Ghana

Content moderators including those in Ghana have long had to contend with a harrowing work environment as they scrub posts containing child abuse and even murders from sites like Facebook and Instagram.

But legal experts at the Accra-based consultancy Agency Seven Seven and London-based nonprofit Foxglove are investigating allegations that moderators have had to view "distressing" and "bloody" content, including sexual assault, without adequate mental health care -- as well as accusations that workers have been sacked for trying to unionise.

"What we are talking about here is potential psychological injury," said Carla Olympio, founder and managing partner at Agency Seven Seven, who has met with workers in recent weeks.

"Everyone is suffering in terms of their mental health -- whether that's post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, depression, suicidal thoughts and more," Martha Dark, founder of Foxglove, told AFP. "The situation is pretty dire."

The probe follows multiple labour-related lawsuits launched in recent years over conditions at the Facebook and Instagram parent company's now-shuttered content moderating hub in Nairobi, Kenya. That centre -- like the hub in Ghana -- was run by a third-party contractor, not Meta itself.

Another suit in Kenya alleges that Facebook's algorithm amplified hate speech in neighbouring Ethiopia, with deadly consequences.

The Nairobi hub shut down in 2023, though the lawsuits are still ongoing. But the establishment of a new content moderation centre in Ghana had been until recently kept secret by Meta.

The lawyers say around 150 content moderators work in the Ghanaian capital for Majorel, a firm owned by Paris-headquartered tech contractor Teleperformance, which is paid by Meta for content moderation.

One worker in Accra, who moved to Ghana from east Africa, told British newspaper The Guardian that his work as a content moderator drove him to attempt suicide.

Employer-provided housing requires workers to share rooms, Dark said, while low base pay and an "opaque" salary structure incentivises moderators seeking bonus pay "to look at more and more content".

Neither Teleperformance nor Meta responded to AFP's request for comment.

- Lawsuits in Kenya -

A Teleperformance spokesperson told The Guardian that the company has "robust people management systems and workplace practices, including a robust wellbeing programme staffed by fully licensed psychologists".

It also defended what it called "strong pay and benefits".

Meta told the newspaper that it took "the support of content reviewers seriously".

Foxglove is also involved in the lawsuits in Kenya, where it alleges the Nairobi hub illegally fired workers after they moved to unionise and voiced similar concerns about the mental health harms faced on the job.

There is a way for content moderators to do their job safely, Dark insisted, citing limits in Ireland on the amount of content police investigating child abuse can be exposed to, as well as the provision of "proper psychiatric care".

AFP is involved in a partnership with Meta providing fact-checking services in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

F.M.Ferrentino--PV