Kenyans claim consent breach in Netflix’s Free Money documentary

Four Kenyans told a court their images and videos were used without consent in a 2023 ‘Free Money’ documentary on Netflix and want to be compensated from the documentary’s earnings. Their photos and videos were taken while receiving $22 cash donations from GiveDirectly, a US-based non-profit, as part of a 12-year financial support programme that began in 2018. 

The petitioners, John Omondi, Jael Songa, Immaculate Adhiambo and Milka Okech, claim they were not given the details of the production and content of the two-hour documentary filmed over five years. They’re suing GiveDirectly, Insignia Films Inc and Goodhue Pictures Inc. 

The petitioners claim GiveDirectly only informed them the documentary was due to premiere in Canada and other cinemas weeks before the launch.

“The petitioner and the Kogutu clan members learnt about the production of a documentary about their lives after it was released on Netflix. All the time their pictures, videos and voices were being recorded they were never informed that it was for the purpose and intention of coming up with a documentary for commercialisation,” they said.

GiveDirectly donates cash to poor households as part of universal basic income (UBI)  testing. The Free Money documentary tracked the group’s activities in Kenya, where it made monthly cash payments to adult residents. 

While the petitioners agreed to continue receiving the financial support, other clan members opted out of the programme, citing privacy concerns over their images. Court filings show that some families walked out of the arrangement in a meeting held in February 2018.   

“Most of those who remained in the meeting and their photos and videos taken were recruited in the programme of monthly income of $22 for 12 years by Give Directly,” they said.

“Give Directly informed members in the meeting that taking of photos and videos formed part of the conditions of money donation and that should the clan members refuse the blessing and favour of the money will not dawn on them,” they said in court filings.

The lawsuit could set a precedent for how filmmakers in Kenya seek consent and portray individuals, continuing an ongoing debate on exploitation in documentary filmmaking especially in vulnerable communities.