Mange Kimambi, a Tanzanian activist and social media influencer, has sued Meta in the US, accusing the technology company of disabling her accounts due to pressure from Tanzanian authorities during a period of political unrest.
Kimambi, who lives in the US, filed the 36-page complaint on August 21 in the Superior Court of California in San Mateo County, where Meta is headquartered. The lawsuit alleges that the owner of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp misled users about how it handles government requests to restrict content and failed to follow its own stated human rights policies.
The case could test how far African governments can reach beyond their borders to restrict critics on global social media platforms, and whether technology companies must disclose when government pressure influences decisions to suspend accounts.
“This case is about Meta’s concealment of government involvement in its censorship decisions,” Kimambi argues in the complaint.
Originally published by TechCabal.