Mapping Data Labour Supply Chain in Africa in an Era of Digital Apartheid: a Struggle for Recognition

TL;DR

The paper maps Africa's data labour supply chain in AI-era digital apartheid, focusing on content moderation and data labelling workers. It uses participatory research with the African Content Moderators Union (ACMU) and GDPR data rights to co-produce knowledge and evidence. The authors present the first continent-wide map of industry presence across 43 of 55 countries, document precarious contracts, low and uneven pay, and mental health strains, and frame workers' demands within Honneth's struggle for recognition. The work argues for integrating sociology of work into technology design and highlights implications for governance, accountability, and a more equitable AI development path.

Abstract

Content moderation and data labelling work has shifted to the Global South, particularly Africa, where workers operate under precarious conditions while remaining invisible to users. This study addresses the gap in understanding the scope of this industry and the working conditions of African content moderation workforce through a participatory approach. We collaborated with a union of content moderators to conduct desk research, deploy a questionnaire (n=81), and gather ethnographic observations across nine months that could answer their social needs. Our findings show that content moderation operations span 43 out of 55 African countries, involving 17 major firms serving predominantly North-American and European clients, with workers facing insecurity and inadequate psychological support. We contribute the first comprehensive map of Africa's content moderation industry, demonstrate a participatory methodology that centers workers' collective actions in documenting their conditions, and apply Honneth's ``struggle for recognition'' framework to understand data workers' demands for professional acknowledgement.

Figures (9)

• Figure 1: Map of the content moderation industry.
• Figure 2: The principal occupation of survey participants.
• Figure 3: Participants’ work locations.
• Figure 4: Participants’ work locations.
• Figure 5: Contractual working hours.