ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has announced layoffs affecting hundreds of employees, primarily in Malaysia, as part of a strategic move to enhance its AI-driven content moderation efforts. On Friday (Oct. 11), the company revealed that around 500 staff members, mostly from the content moderation teams, were laid off. The employees were reportedly notified via email on Wednesday, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The layoffs are part of a broader initiative by ByteDance to streamline its global content moderation operations, which currently rely on a combination of human moderators and automated systems. The company has confirmed that several hundred employees across the globe were impacted by the workforce reduction.
TikTok, which employs over 150,000 staff members worldwide across nearly 120 cities, may implement further layoffs next month as part of a planned consolidation of regional operations, sources suggest. The social media giant is reportedly investing $2 billion globally in trust and safety initiatives, with 80% of content violations now being removed by AI systems.
Regulatory Challenges and Increased Scrutiny
The layoffs come at a time when TikTok faces growing regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Malaysia, where the government has imposed new requirements for social media platforms to obtain operating licenses by January to combat cybercrime. Additionally, TikTok is navigating potential legal hurdles in the United States, where the company is contesting legislation aimed at forcing its sale due to concerns over data privacy.
In September, ByteDance’s legal team began challenging the U.S. law, arguing that the measure, signed by President Joe Biden in April, is unconstitutional. The legislation arose from fears that U.S. citizens’ data could be accessed and exploited by the Chinese government, a claim that TikTok has consistently denied.
A TikTok spokesperson told ReadWrite, “We’re making these changes as part of our ongoing efforts to further strengthen our global operating model for content moderation. We expect to invest $2 billion globally in trust and safety in 2024 alone and are continuing to improve the efficacy of our efforts, with 80% of violative content now removed by automated technologies.”
As ByteDance navigates these regulatory challenges, the company remains focused on refining its content moderation practices and ensuring the platform meets global compliance standards.
