TikTok could cut hundreds of UK jobs after introducing AI moderation

TikTokis putting hundreds of jobs at risk in the UK as part of a restructure of its trust and safety operations.

The video-sharing app said it was "concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally". The app is increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to moderate its content.

Plans for a global restructure will involve jobs in the UK, as well as South and South-east Asia.

It is understood that several hundred jobs will be affected in the UK, where it currently employs more than 2,500 staff.

Under the proposed plans, the work of affected employees will be reallocated to other offices inEuropeand some third-party providers – with some trust and safety roles and operations remaining in the UK.

TikTok's UK headquarters is inFarringdoninLondon, and it is set to open a new office inBarbicanin the capital early next year.

A spokesperson for the social media company said: “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 to ensure that we maximize effectiveness and speed as we evolve this critical function for the company with the benefit of technological advancements.”

TikTok has increasingly been using AI to moderate content shared on the app.

According to the platform, more than 85 percent of the content removed for violating its community guidelines is identified and taken down by automation.

It also says that AI can reduce the amount of distressing or graphic content that its moderation teams are exposed to.

A spokesperson for the Communication Workers Union said: "This news will put TikTok's millions of British users at risk."

TikTok workers have long been sounding the alarm over the real-world costs of cutting human moderation teams in favor of hastily developed, immature AI alternatives.

This has been a constant concern throughout the process of TikTok workers' efforts to form a union.

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