Meta fuelled conflict during civil war, say Ethiopians in lawsuit

Two Ethiopians on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Meta, accusing Facebook's parent company of fomenting hatred and violence during Ethiopia's civil war.
Ethiopian academic Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, a consultant for Amnesty International, filed a constitutional petition to that effect in the Supreme Court in neighbouring Kenya.
The indictment, obtained by dpa, accuses Facebook of spreading hatred and violence in order to make advertising profits. Meta failed to provide sufficient staff at its Kenya site to properly moderate content in African languages, it said.
As a result, Facebook posts had "fuelled conflicts," particularly during Ethiopia's civil war, the plaintiffs said in a statement.
The document blames Facebook for, among other things, the killing of Abrham Meareg's father, who had been the victim of a viral smear campaign.
Overall, Facebook's algorithm has harmed not only Ethiopians, but half a billion people in eastern and southern Africa, according to the plaintiffs.
The petition calls for a series of court orders to end Facebook's "systemic discrimination" against African users.
Among the demands are the faster deletion of comments inciting violence and the creation of a $1.6 billion fund for victims of hate and violence caused by Facebook.
The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fought a two-year war from November 2020, which ended just over a month ago with a ceasefire and negotiations for a peace agreement.