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TikTok puts hundreds of UK jobs at risk in safety and moderation teams
A view of the app for TikTok on a phone screen

TIKTOK is putting hundreds of jobs at risk in Britain as part of a restructure, a union has warned, as it increasingly uses artificial intelligence to moderate content.

The video-sharing app, owned by Chinese company ByteDanc, said it was “concentrating our operations in fewer locations globally.”

It is understood that several hundred jobs in trust and safety operations will be impacted in Britain, where it currently employs more than 2,500 staff.

Under the proposed plans, the work of affected employees will be reallocated to other offices in Europe and some third-party providers.

TikTok has increasingly been harnessing AI to moderate content shared on the app, with more than 85 per cent of the content removed for violating its community guidelines identified and taken down by automation.

A Communication Workers Union spokesperson 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 favour 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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