“£2bn Meta court case over Ethiopian hate speech clears legal hurdle”, 3 April 2025

A £2bn legal case against Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – over fueling ethnic violence in Ethiopia can go ahead, a Kenyan court has ruled. 

The petition, initially filed in December 2022, cites reporting from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ). In February that year, TBIJ and the Observer told the stories of Ethiopian civilians who said their family members were killed because of posts on Facebook.

On Thursday a judge ruled that Kenya’s legal system had the necessary jurisdiction to hear the case. The claimants are calling for two funds totalling £1.8bn to be set up, covering victims of both normal and sponsored Facebook posts that included hate speech. 

The lead claimant in the case, Abrham Meareg Amare, says that his father, a professor at Bahir Dar University in Amhara, Ethiopia, was murdered after two Facebook posts targeted him as a member of the Tigrayan ethnic group…

Professor Abreha was shot twice outside his home, once in the shoulder and once in the leg… he died in the street…

The posts targeting Professor Abreha were just two of many that have spread hate and incited violence towards different ethnic groups in Ethiopia. The Tigray war, which began in 2020, killed hundreds of thousands, including many in ethnically motivated killings…

The other claimant in the case is Fisseha Tekle, a researcher working for Amnesty International in Kenya who claims to have been targeted on Facebook…

The petition is also asking Meta to:

• change its algorithms and moderation practices to stop the spread of viral hate speech; 
• take steps to demote incitements to violence on its platforms and; 
• hire enough content moderators to avoid further damage in East and Southern Africa…

Meta ... is expected to attempt to appeal the latest decision.

Meta did not respond to a request for comment…