This week, Facebook suffered a major legal loss when a judge in Kenya rejected the company’s bid to throw out a lawsuit against it from a former content moderator. The suit alleges that Facebook subjected content moderators to graphically violent images and videos that caused them to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

For its part, Facebook argued that it couldn’t be subjected to Kenyan law because the company doesn’t formally operate in the country. However, since it will have to continue defending itself in this case, it marks one of the first times the social media giant has ever been held legally accountable in the global south.

“We look forward to the day when Facebook will face justice for exploiting content moderators,” said Cori Crider, an advocate supporting the case. “We think it’s right that this trial be heard in Kenya, where the abuses happened. Mark Zuckerberg advertises his service to African users and profits from Kenyan advertising — but he refuses to invest enough resources to keep Kenyans safe and treat the key workers who protect Facebook with the dignity and humanity they deserve.”

This case is far from over, but if these allegations against Facebook are proven correct, it could have a massive impact on how the company protects both its employees and users globally.

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