of MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Office
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – META, which runs Facebook, has been the subject of a landmark US$1.6 billion lawsuit after the latter allegedly amplified hate and fueled ethnic conflict in Ethiopia.
The lawsuit against the social media giant has been filed in Kenya.
The legal action claims that Meta promoted speech that led to ethnic violence and murders in Ethiopia by using an algorithm that prioritizes and recommends violent and hateful content on Facebook.
The petitioners seek to prevent Facebook’s algorithms from recommending such content to Facebook users and force Meta to create a 200 billion ($1.6 billion) victim fund.
Amnesty International joins six other legal and human rights organizations as interested parties in the case.
“The spread of dangerous content on Facebook is at the heart of Meta’s quest for profit, as its systems are designed to keep people involved,” said Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, Horn. of Africa and the Great Lakes Region.
“This legal action is an important step in holding Meta to account for its harmful business model,” Mwangovya added.
One of Amnesty’s staff members in the region was allegedly attacked as a result of posts on the social media platform.
Fisseha Tekle, Amnesty International Legal Adviser, noted that in Ethiopia, people rely on social media for news and information.
“Because of the hate and misinformation on Facebook, human rights defenders have also become targets of threats and criticism,” the legal expert said.
“I saw firsthand how the dynamic at Facebook undermined my own human rights work, and I hope this case corrects the imbalance,” Tekle said.
Another petitioner, Abraham Meareg, is said to fear for his safety and is seeking asylum in the United States.
Earlier, Facebook faced further trouble in Kenya after Global Witness revealed that the social media giant had been unable to detect hate speech ads in the run-up to the August general election.
– CAJ News
