Mapping Data Labour Supply Chain in Africa in an Era of Digital Apartheid: a Struggle for Recognition (2512.04269v1)

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.