Silicon Valley's Online Slave Market - Full documentary - BBC News Arabic | BBC Africa Eye

The script reveals a shocking online slave market operating in Kuwait where domestic workers are sold via apps available on Google and Apple platforms. BBC News Arabic goes undercover to expose this illegal trade, which thrives on the lack of regulation and puts women and children at high risk of exploitation and abuse. Despite new laws in 2015 aimed at protecting domestic workers, a controversial industry has emerged where they are bought and sold online using apps like 4Sale. Ann Abunda, founder of Sandigan, an organization fighting for the rights of domestic workers, and the BBC team pose as a couple looking to buy a domestic worker, uncovering the disturbing ease with which people can become involved in this trade.

The BBC undercover team investigates the 4Sale app, which not only allows the sale of domestic workers but also features an illegal filter by race. They find that the women being sold are often unaware of their online advertisements and are subjected to conditions that violate both Kuwaiti and international laws, such as passport confiscation and lack of days off. The team interviews 57 users of the app and discovers that similar practices are happening in Saudi Arabia on the Haraj app and on Instagram, owned by Facebook, where sellers use racist and discriminatory language.

The script delves into the 'Kafala' system, which governs the employment of domestic workers in Kuwait. Under this system, workers are brought into the country by agencies and registered with the government. Employers pay a fee to become the official sponsor of the worker, who cannot change jobs or leave the country without the sponsor's permission. Apps like 4Sale and Haraj, and platforms like Instagram, facilitate the sale of sponsorship, bypassing agencies and creating an unregulated black market that increases vulnerability to abuse. The BBC team's investigation leads to a disturbing encounter where a child is being offered for sale.

The BBC team documents the case of a young girl, referred to as 'Fatou' to protect her identity, who is being illegally sold by her employer in Kuwait. The employer has broken several laws, including employing a minor, confiscating her passport, and restricting her freedom. Ann from Sandigan and the UN special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Urmila Bhoola, recognize this as a clear example of modern slavery. Ann initiates an investigation to help Fatou, involving the Guinean Embassy and a local policeman, Jacques, who takes it upon himself to find Fatou's family in Guinea.

Jacques, a policeman in Guinea, expands his search for Fatou's family to the remote forest regions of the country. Meanwhile, the script discusses the trafficking of underage girls from Guinea, highlighting the lucrative industry for traffickers and the desperate measures families take to escape poverty. The BBC team meets a trafficker who explains how girls like Fatou end up in Kuwait, and they also meet other underage workers who share their experiences of being bought and sold using apps, illustrating the exploitation they face.

The script criticizes tech giants Google, Apple, and Facebook for hosting apps and platforms that facilitate the illegal sale of domestic workers, despite their policies against modern slavery and human trafficking. It details how these companies' guidelines are violated by the use of discriminatory language and the sale of workers through apps like 4Sale and on Instagram. The BBC team's investigation shows that these practices continue unabated, with no apparent enforcement of the companies' own rules.

Ann's efforts to help Fatou reach a critical point when all other options are exhausted, leading the BBC team to take their video of Fatou to the Kuwaiti authorities for assistance. They meet with Nasser al-Mousawi, Head of the Domestic Workers Office, and May al-Tararwah, a lawyer, who provide insights into the issue. Eventually, the Kuwaiti authorities locate Fatou, and Ann arranges a meeting with her at a state-run shelter for domestic workers, where many are awaiting legal resolution or deportation.

Fatou shares her experience of working for three households in Kuwait and only receiving two months' salary during her nine months there. Two days after her meeting with Ann, Fatou is deported back to Guinea. The script reflects on the discrepancy between Kuwait's progressive laws protecting domestic workers and the reality of violations and lack of enforcement. It also notes that no legal action has been taken against those who tried to sell Fatou, and the Kuwaiti government has not introduced new regulations to address the online market for domestic workers.

The script concludes with a call to action for businesses to ensure that their platforms are not used for modern slavery and human trafficking. It highlights the ongoing issue of domestic workers, including children, being sold on platforms like Instagram, Haraj, and other apps available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. The lack of government enforcement and stricter regulations by tech giants is criticized, as it allows this online trade to continue, leaving many women vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The script also notes the responses from 4Sale, Facebook, Google, and Apple following the investigation.