Historic step from TikTok: Users worried

ByteDance, the company's Chinese owner, announced in an email to employees on Friday that it is considering closing its moderation and quality control units in London. This could result in hundreds of job losses not only in the UK but also across Southeast Asia. Operations are planned to be relocated to different European hubs or outsourced to third-party providers.

"ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS RESHAPING THE PROCESS"

"The proposed changes aim to concentrate expertise in specific centers. Technological advances like large language models are reshaping our approach," ByteDance said in a statement. The company did, however, announce that some security positions would remain in the UK and that the total number of employees would be increased.

EMPLOYEES AND USERS ARE WORRIED

TikTok's security department in London employs around 300 people. CWU union official John Chadfield expressed concern that "reducing human moderation teams and relying on rudimentary AI is putting millions of British users at risk."