TikTok cuts hundreds of UK moderators as AI takes over content screening

TikTok is laying off hundreds more content moderators from its London-based team as part of an expanded push toward AI-powered content moderation. The move affects a significant portion of the platform’s 2,500-person UK moderation team and follows similar cuts across other regions, reflecting the broader industry shift away from human moderators toward automated systems.

What you should know: This represents TikTok’s most significant moderation team reduction in the UK to date, though exact numbers remain undisclosed.
• Over 85% of content removed from TikTok for violating guidelines is already identified and taken down by AI, according to the company.
• The layoffs will also impact employees from South and Southeast Asia, extending beyond the UK team.
• TikTok previously cut 500 moderation employees in Malaysia in late 2024 and around 150 in Berlin in July 2024.

The big picture: Social media platforms are increasingly replacing human content moderators with AI systems and community-based moderation approaches.
• Meta has been cutting professional content moderators “en masse” in favor of community-based moderation.
• Elon Musk’s X operates with vastly reduced human content moderation teams compared to its Twitter days.
• The trend reflects both cost-cutting measures and confidence in AI capabilities for content screening.

Why this matters: The timing raises questions about TikTok’s motivations beyond pure AI advancement.
• The UK’s Online Safety Act came into force last month, requiring platforms to protect minors from harmful content or face fines up to 10% of global turnover or £18 million.
• The layoffs occurred just one week before London staff were scheduled to vote on unionization, which company management had been resisting.

What they’re saying: TikTok frames the cuts as part of a broader operational restructuring.
• “We are continuing a reorganization that we started last year to strengthen our global operating model for Trust and Safety, which includes concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally,” a TikTok spokesperson told the Financial Times.
• John Chadfield from the Communication Workers Union, a UK labor organization, argued that TikTok “doesn’t want to have human moderators, their goal is to have it all done by AI.”
• “AI makes them sound smart and cutting-edge, but they’re actually just going to offshore it,” Chadfield added.