On March 14th, the Kenyan High Court issued an injunction barring the company Meta, a content moderation services provider, from engaging a new content moderation partner. The Kenyan Bloggers Association had filed the injunction alleging that Meta had been engaging in anti-competitive practices and had proper control of the Kenyan content moderation services market.
Meta, a content moderation start-up based out of Nairobi, Kenya, provides content moderation services to digital publishers, content creators, and operators of user-generated content. These services cover a range of matters and include reputation management, comments moderation, and censorship of profanity and content deemed unsuitable. The company’s services are designed to ensure the content on digital platforms remains appropriate and decent.
Meta has engaged a new content moderation partner, an Ugandan-based company, and had planned to begin operations in early March. The Kenyan Bloggers Association (KBA) alleged that Meta had impeded competition in the content moderation market in Kenya, as the new content moderation partner is not part of Meta’s network of content moderation partners. The KBA argued that Meta’s new partner had the potential to gain an unfair advantage over Kenyan content moderation service providers.
In response to the KBA’s action, the High Court of Kenya issued an injunction ordering that Meta be barred from engaging its new content moderation partner. The court cited that Meta had a restricted control of the market and had prevented competition, going against Kenya’s trade and competition laws.
The KBA welcomed the decision, terming it a sigh of relief for Kenyan content moderation services providers, as the company was showing signs of monopolization of the content moderation services market. The KBA said that it expected this decision to open up the market, making it accessible to other service providers in the industry.
Meta, however, disagrees with the decision, arguing that the new partnership was based on mutual benefits. Meta’s CEO, Victoria Gathogo, stated that the company had not intended to stifle competition and was disappointed by the court’s decision. Gathogo confirmed that Meta would be appealing the decision.
For now, Meta has been barred from engaging its new content moderation partner, pending the outcome of the appeal. The case highlights the importance of content moderation services, as well as the need for meaningful competition in the industry.
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