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Market Analysis

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, eliminates hundreds of jobs in favor of AI content moderation
Amos Simanungkalit · 12.4K Views

17

Social media platform TikTok has announced the layoff of hundreds of employees worldwide, including a significant number in Malaysia, as it shifts focus to enhancing its content moderation through increased use of artificial intelligence (AI).

According to two sources familiar with the situation, over 700 jobs were cut in Malaysia, though TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, later clarified that fewer than 500 employees in the country were impacted. The majority of the affected staff were involved in content moderation and received notice of their dismissal via email on Wednesday evening, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In response to Reuters' inquiries, TikTok confirmed the layoffs, noting that several hundred positions globally would be affected as part of a broader effort to optimize its moderation processes. The platform currently employs a combination of automated systems and human reviewers to oversee content posted on the site.

ByteDance, which has over 110,000 employees across more than 200 cities worldwide, is reportedly planning additional layoffs next month as it consolidates some of its regional operations, according to one of the sources.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson explained that these changes are part of ongoing efforts to enhance the company's global content moderation framework. TikTok plans to invest $2 billion globally this year in trust and safety measures, with the company emphasizing that automated technologies now account for 80% of the removal of content that violates platform guidelines.

The layoffs were initially reported by The Malaysian Reserve on Thursday.

These job cuts come as global tech firms face increasing regulatory scrutiny in Malaysia. The Malaysian government has urged social media platforms, including TikTok, to apply for operating licenses by January as part of a wider crackdown on cybercrimes. Earlier this year, Malaysia reported a significant rise in harmful content on social media and called on firms to improve content monitoring on their platforms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.

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