June 25, 2025

A Historic Win for Platform Workers at the ILO: What It Means for Content Moderators

By Mophat Okinyi , Chairperson - African Content Moderators Union (ACMU)

This month, a monumental shift occurred at the 113th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. On Wednesday, June 4, 2025, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Normative Committee on Decent Work in the Platform Economy approved the development of a new international convention, alongside a recommendation, to regulate digital platform work. This move, supported by 65 governments and the global Workers’ Group, was opposed by just 16 countries and the Employers’ Group. For the millions of platform workers across the world, especially those in the Global South, this is a long-overdue and hard-fought victory.

Attending the ILC as Chairperson of the African Content Moderators Union (ACMU), with the support of Solidarity Center-Kenya and the Communication Workers Union of Kenya, I witnessed the significance of this decision first-hand. It represents a historic milestone for digital labourers such as content moderators, ride-hail drivers, data annotators, and other platform workers who have operated in legal and economic uncertainty for far too long. One of the key achievements of the committee was the formal definition of “digital labour platform” and “digital platform worker.” This clarity is critical, it establishes a foundation for extending rights and protections to a workforce that has, until now, existed outside of traditional labour laws. For content moderators in particular, this progress is deeply personal and transformative.

Moderators often work under subcontracted arrangements, reviewing disturbing content including hate speech, graphic violence, and child abuse imagery, all while being paid low wages and receiving little to no mental health support or job security. The new international framework has the potential to drastically improve their conditions by pushing for proper classification as employees, guaranteeing minimum wages, access to social protections, and occupational safety. It also addresses the issue of algorithmic control, many workers are subjected to automated systems that determine task allocation, performance scoring, or even deactivation without transparency or accountability. This convention opens the door for greater algorithmic fairness and the right to contest decisions.

This victory did not happen overnight. It is the result of years of global organizing and solidarity. Workers, unions, researchers, and allies have relentlessly advocated for the recognition of platform work as real work. The Solidarity Center, UNI Global Union, and unions from the Global South have played a pivotal role in lifting the voices of workers at international forums. The ILO’s decision affirms that digital labour is not exempt from basic labour rights and that platform companies can no longer escape responsibility through outsourcing and legal loopholes.

Back home, this international recognition strengthens our local efforts. At ACMU, we have been organizing tirelessly to bring content moderators and other platform workers together into a unified voice. One of the key enablers of our recent growth has been support from the Democracy at Work Fund, which has been instrumental in helping us build worker power from the ground up. With this support, ACMU has launched initiatives that go beyond advocacy, we are addressing workers' immediate needs. We’ve provided emergency food support to platform workers who face income instability, established mental health support programs for those traumatized by their daily tasks, and conducted grassroots labour rights awareness campaigns to empower workers to understand and demand their rights. Just as importantly, we have been building the internal strength of our union, expanding membership, developing worker leaders, and deepening our organizing strategy.

These initiatives are part of a broader vision: to ensure that digital work in Africa is safe, dignified, and fairly compensated. As we move into the drafting phase of the ILO convention and prepare for formal adoption in 2026, we at ACMU remain committed to making sure that these global wins are translated into local protections, anchored in community, driven by solidarity, and fueled by the voices of workers themselves.

This is not just a policy win, it is a human win. For the invisible workers behind your apps, AI tools, and social media feeds, the ILO’s decision marks the beginning of a new chapter. We are no longer silent. We are seen. And we are ready to organize for the future we deserve.