In a striking turn of events, over 1,000 workers in Kenya have been dismissed from their positions by Sama, an outsourcing firm that provided content moderation and AI training services for Meta. This abrupt decision, announced on Thursday, follows Meta’s termination of its contract with Sama amidst serious allegations regarding the treatment of workers involved in content moderation using the company’s smart glasses. Activists are calling this mass layoff a troubling indication of the precarious nature of tech jobs in developing regions.
Allegations Prompt Contract Termination
The recent contract termination came after reports surfaced revealing that some Kenyan employees were required to view deeply private content captured by Meta’s AI-enabled Ray-Ban smart glasses. This included distressing footage, significantly violating users’ privacy rights. In light of these allegations, Meta paused its operations with Sama, stating, “Photos and videos are private to users. Humans review AI content to improve product performance, for which we get clear user consent. We’ve also decided to end our work with Sama because they don’t meet our standards.”
The layoffs follow a troubling history of mental health issues associated with content moderation. A civil lawsuit filed in 2024 cited severe PTSD, anxiety, and depression among 140 former workers, who were subjected to harrowing online material. The