TikTok Lays Off 250 Members of its Moderation Team

TikTok announced that it was closing its office in Nashville this week, cutting the jobs of 250 content moderators.

The role these moderators play in keeping TikTok safe was only recently outlined in a guidance report on user security and safety – highlighting how they reduce exposure to harmful content by checking user flags and responding to reports. 

Yet, it seems as though TikTok may be following in the footsteps of Meta and looking to automate more of its roles and processes in a bid to streamline the app. 

Is TikTok Embracing the Use of AI?

On TikTok, human intervention remains an important part of the content moderation process at present, though it seems as thought AI development could be on the rise.

If TikTok follows Meta, content moderation could be managed solely by artificial intelligence; something that could allow more reports to be monitored in a short space of time, but which may allow more harmful content to fall through the cracks.  

It remains to be seen how TikTok will respond to the loss of such a large number of content moderation workers. We’ll update you when we know more!