According to a lawsuit, Facebook’s algorithm encouraged the viral spread of violence and hatred during the civil conflict in Ethiopia.
One of those initiating the case against Meta is Abraham Meareg, the son of an Ethiopian academic who was shot dead after being abused in Facebook messages.
Both a $2 billion (£1.6 billion) fund for victims of hate crimes on Facebook and adjustments to the algorithm are demanded.
According to Meta, it extensively invested in technology and moderation to combat hate.
Hate speech and the instigation of violence, according to a spokesman, are prohibited on the site.
Campaign organization Foxglove is in favor of the case, which was brought before Kenya’s High Court.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Meta operates a hub for content moderation.
400,000 additional people are currently experiencing famine-like circumstances as a result of the conflict between the Ethiopian government and forces in the northern Tigray region.
Although a sudden peace agreement was reached last month, ethnically motivated killings between Amhara- and Oromo-speaking groups have increased recently.
Mr. Meareg claims in an affidavit submitted to the court that Facebook’s algorithm encourages “hateful and inciting” information because it is more likely to generate user interaction.
Additionally, he asserts that Facebook’s content filtering in Africa is “woefully inadequate,” as there aren’t enough moderators to handle posts in the important Amharic, Oromo, and Tigrinya languages.
