Key Points
- TikTok is reducing its trust and safety unit as part of a global restructuring effort. This will affect employees in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
- TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain due to a law requiring ByteDance to sell or face a ban by January 2025.
- CEO Shou Zi Chew previously pledged $2 billion for trust and safety, but TikTok is shifting towards AI-driven content moderation.
- TikTok claims to have 40,000 trust and safety professionals, but further cuts could reduce human oversight in favor of automation.
TikTok has begun laying off employees in its trust and safety unit, which handles content moderation, as part of a global restructuring. According to sources familiar with the matter, the move was communicated to staff through a memo sent by Adam Presser, TikTok’s Head of Operations, on Thursday. Sources indicated that the layoffs started immediately and affected employees across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The extent of the job cuts remains unclear, and TikTok has yet to issue an official statement.
This restructuring comes as TikTok faces uncertainty over its future in the United States. A law set to take effect on January 19, 2025, requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the platform or face a nationwide ban over national security concerns. The short-video platform, which boasts nearly 170 million American users, briefly went dark last month as political pressure mounted.
TikTok has previously emphasized its commitment to user safety. In January 2023, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress, alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to address concerns about child safety on digital platforms. At the hearing, Chew stated that TikTok would invest over $2 billion in trust and safety initiatives.
Despite these assurances, TikTok has been shifting towards AI-driven content moderation. In October 2023, the company laid off hundreds of employees globally, particularly in Malaysia, as it moved toward greater reliance on automated moderation technologies.
TikTok reports having 40,000 trust and safety professionals worldwide, but these latest layoffs signal a potential downsizing of human moderators in favor of AI systems. As regulatory scrutiny on TikTok intensifies, the company faces ongoing pressure to ensure platform security and compliance with global regulations.
