Browsing: Meta

• The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the world’s largest Coltan deposits of key minerals which Apple uses to make electronic devices.
• The government of the DRC is accusing Apple of using “illegally exploited” minerals extracted from its rich minerals controlled by rebels.

What if I told you that, your valued, expensive and widely cherished smartphone from Apple (iPhone) might cost more than its sold in child labour’s lives.

Coltan, key mineral in making mobile phones and laptops is largely found in DR Congo and tech giants – including Apple could be directly or indirectly involved in aiding child labour deep in Congo mines.

Media reports show that people across the developed world are boycotting the newly released iPhone 16. Protesters from London to Tokyo are demanding accountability over exploitation in mining that is used to extract the key element used in making the very phones sold across the globe.…

• Facebook accused of unlawful termination of Kenyan content moderators
• Kenyan Labour Court rules Facebook parent company Meta has a case to answer 
• Facebook and Meta’s unlawful termination case follows initial hazardous working conditions lawsuit

Facebook parent company Meta has a case to answer in an unlawful termination lawsuit, a Kenyan Labour Court has ruled.

The lawsuit comes against a backdrop of negative headlines in East Africa ranging from not censoring hate messages in Ethiopia to unlawful termination and hazardous working conditions in Kenya.

The Employment and Labour Relations court in Nairobi stopped the social media giant from ending a contract with a third party that hires hundreds of workers that work in the content moderation division.

At the start of the year, some 260 Kenyans hired as Facebook content moderators in Nairobi were issued termination letters that they claim are without just cause and unlawful. 43 of them moved to …

This comes after a few weeks ago, a law firm threatened to sue Meta (formerly Facebook) and Sama over the alleged unsafe and unfair work conditions dolled on its content moderators. 

Nzili and Sumbi Advocates alleged that Sama had breached a number of rights including the health and privacy of its Kenyan and international staff. 

The law firm demanded that both Meta and Sama adhere to Kenya’s labour, privacy and health laws, including that it provides its content moderators with adequate mental health insurance and better compensation.

Additionally, the law firm demanded that the two firms recruit qualified and experienced health professionals for the content moderators. …

This as 19 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa lived in areas not covered by mobile networks while an additional 53 per cent did not use mobile internet despite having coverage.

The need for accessible internet solutions comes after Meta (formerly Facebook) announced plans to shut down its low-cost Express Wi-Fi internet.

The programme was launched back in 2016 to drive internet connectivity in regions where other forms of connectivity, like ADSL and fibre-optic networks, aren’t readily available or established.…