TikTok cuts over 400 UK safety jobs amid shift toward AI moderation, raising user protection concerns

More than 400 content moderators in the United Kingdom have left TikTok’s Trust and Safety teams after the social media company initiated a mass layoff earlier this year. Whistleblowers told Sky News that staff were asked to sign mutual termination agreements by 31 October, despite TikTok’s claims to MPs that the job cuts were only proposals. The workers have reportedly handed in their laptops and access badges and are on gardening leave until late December, leaving only a handful still under consultation. The Communication Workers’ Union described the process as effectively completed and criticized TikTok for misleading parliament about the status of layoffs.

TikTok maintains that it is following UK employment law and insists the reorganization is designed to improve moderation speed and efficiency through greater use of artificial intelligence. Company representatives, including Ali Law, argued that AI allows for faster and more consistent moderation than humans. However, several former moderators told Sky News they fear these changes will put users — especially children and teenagers — at risk. They believe AI lacks the ability to understand linguistic nuance, irony, and context, making it prone to error in identifying harmful content.

Union officials and MPs have expressed concern over transparency, noting that TikTok has not yet provided credible evidence proving safety standards will remain stable or improve. Reports also suggest that moderation jobs are being offshored to third-party agencies abroad, such as in Portugal. Critics see these moves as cost-cutting measures disguised as technological modernization, while TikTok insists safety remains its foremost priority.