Facebook has suffered a blow after the High Court ruled that Meta, Facebook's parent company, can be sued in the country over its alleged role in promoting content that contributed to ethnic violence in Ethiopia. In his ruling, Justice Lawrence Mugambi of the Milimani Constitutional and Human Rights Division dismissed an application from the Kenya Human Rights Commission challenging the authority of Kenyan courts to handle a case brought by two individuals. The case concerns Facebook's involvement in the civil war in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region. "After a careful review of the issues raised in this petition, I am convinced that it raises pertinent matters deserving of serious consideration by the Court," Judge Mugambi ruled.
According to the judge, the Kenyan High Court has the jurisdiction to hear the case, and he ordered that it proceed to a full hearing on Facebook's role in the conflict and its failure to address harmful content on its platform. "The petition raises fundamental concerns regarding acts or omissions related to content posted on Facebook by content moderators based in Kenya, which may impact the observance of human rights beyond Kenya, through the use of social media.
This falls within the Court's jurisdiction under Article 165(3)(b) of the Constitution," the judge stated. "It is the considered opinion of this Court that the petition should be heard on its merits, rather than being terminated at this preliminary stage.
The respondent's application to strike out the petition is hereby rejected," Judge Mugambi continued.
