TikTok is replacing content moderators with AI

TikTok plans to lay off 150 content moderators in Berlin and replace them with artificial intelligence (AI) and external service providers.

According to German trade union ver.di, two types of positions will be dissolved and outsourced: the entire trust-and-safety department, which consists of moderators who review content that violates TikTok’s rules, and part of the so-called live department, which is responsible for contact with content producers.

“What is sold as technical progress is a double blow for employees: they trained the AI themselves, now they are to be replaced. In doing so, they carry out system-relevant work, without which TikTok would hardly be able to offer its services in Europe in a legally compliant manner,” ver.di says in a statement.

TikTok’s management refuses to negotiate about the cutbacks. To challenge the forced layoffs, workers are going on strike. Lucas Krentel, Deputy Head of the State Department for Media in Berlin-Brandenburg, calls it “disrespectful” of TikTok and accused the platform of shirking “all social responsibility.”

Ver.di argues that content moderators' decisions aren’t just technical processes but rather require experience, contextual knowledge, and responsibility. AI doesn’t understand the social context, making it impossible to decide what’s considered hate speech, disinformation, or unacceptable. Therefore, content moderation can’t simply be automated or outsourced.

The German trade union is working on a social collective agreement with TikTok, but the platform is ignoring all constructive offers.

“The employees at TikTok are doing pioneering work: they are fighting for fair conditions in an industry that systematically outsources responsibility. The fact that so many are organizing shows how great the desire for collective security is,” trade union Secretary Kathlen Eggerling says.

Ver.di calls for political rules to protect the working conditions of content moderators.

“Without the moderators, it will be difficult to recognize and remove violent videos, hate comments, or disinformation in a timely manner. The responsibility for this development does not lie with the employees, but with a company that would rather optimize profits than take responsibility,” the trade union concludes.