Kenya’s parliament has proposed a Business Law (Amendment) Bill 2024 to regulate business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT-enabled service (ITES) companies amid growing scrutiny of worker conditions. 

This follows a September 2024 court ruling allowing BPO firms to be sued locally. It was prompted by former Sama employees who alleged they were moderating harmful content for clients like Meta under exploitative conditions and with inadequate safeguards. Three Sama employees claimed in one report that they were underpaid at $2 per hour, far below the $12 proposed by business partners.

The new bill proposes that employers provide all tools necessary for employee duties, regardless of ownership, and bars them from evading accountability by claiming they are not direct service beneficiaries. 

While this could curb exploitation and align Kenya’s labour standards with global norms, the proposed law raises concerns, one commercial lawyer told TechCabal. The bill proposes that BPO firms should offer “necessary tools” for their employees and suggests rigid liability provisions that could deter outsourcing giants wary of increased operational risks and compliance costs, the same lawyer said. 

“An employer who operates as a Business Process Outsourcing company or who is a provider of Information Technology Enabled Service shall be responsible for any claim raised by an employee in relation to the contract of service and shall not, in its defence to such claim, assert that it was not, in fact, the beneficiary of the services of the employee,” part of the bill seen by TechCabal reads. 

Sama previously provided content moderation services to Meta before exiting the business amid legal disputes with over 180 former employees. These employees sued Sama for unfair dismissal and alleged that the company failed to protect them from the psychological toll of moderating harmful online content. 

Sama has since stopped moderation operations and shifted focus to AI labeling services for technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, and the e-commerce platform Walmart.

Meta is also being sued for an alleged algorithm that fueled ethnic violence in Ethiopia, another lawsuit claims. Petitioners, represented by Mercy Mutemi of Nzili and Sumbi Advocates, are seeking to ban harmful content recommendations and establish a $1.6 billion victim fund.

Balancing worker rights with business competitiveness is critical, another legal expert told TechCabal. Without proper implementation, the bill risks stifling Kenya’s rising prominence in the global outsourcing industry, the expert said. Both Sama and Majorel have employed over 3,000 Kenyans.