TikTok cuts Berlin moderation team with AI and contractors

Berlin workers strike as TikTok shifts moderation to AI and outsourced staff amid mass layoffs.

TikTok replaces Berlin trust and safety team with AI and contractors

TikTok workers in Germany are striking as the company moves to dismantle its Berlin trust and safety team, cutting about 150 jobs. The Berlin hub is the largest for the German-speaking market, with roughly 400 employees, and the layoffs would wipe out nearly 40 percent of the local workforce. TikTok says the plan aims to streamline workflows and improve efficiency while continuing to protect the platform, with some moderation work to be outsourced to contractors and handled by AI.

The strikes come amid a global push to rely more on automation for content moderation. In recent years the company and other social networks have cut trust and safety staff in places like the Netherlands and Malaysia, and Reuters has reported broad layoffs across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. German unions say the changes raise safety, mental health and job security concerns, even as TikTok cites regulatory pressure and the need to remove harmful content quickly. The EU’s Digital Services Act adds an extra layer of scrutiny for platforms, potentially shaping how AI and human moderators share the workload. TikTok maintains it will still use human contractors for some tasks and insists the move is not a retreat from safety.

The Berlin case sits at the intersection of safety, cost and control. Tech platforms face rising expectations to police content, while investors push for leaner operations. Shifting moderation to AI and contractors could speed up takedowns but may also widen blind spots and reduce the human touch that catches nuance. The EU’s Digital Services Act adds teeth to enforcement, pressuring platforms to prove safeguards keep pace with automation. If Berlin’s experience is echoed elsewhere, policymakers may demand clearer accountability for AI decisions and stronger protections for workers who bridge policy and practice.

The strikes reveal a broader tension: safety ambitions are costly, but so is eroding trust when moderated content slips through or when workers fear for their livelihoods. The coming months will test whether TikTok can balance swift removal of harmful content with reliable human oversight, and whether unions can turn protests into a bargaining advantage without derailing platform operations.

Highlights

Safety outcomes will increasingly hinge on how clearly rules translate into practice, not just into promises.