TikTok Implements Restructuring, Lays Off Employees In Trust And Security Team Units

TikTok has laid off global staff (photo: x @raoji02)

JAKARTA TikTok has laid off global staff in its trust and security unit, which is responsible for content moderation. This is done as part of the restructuring, according to three sources familiar with the matter on Thursday, February 20.

Two sources said that Adam Presser, head of TikTok's operations who also oversees the unit, sent a memo to employees on Thursday to inform them of this decision. The layoffs began on the same day for teams in Asia and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, according to the two sources.

This decision was taken amid future uncertainty in TikTok. This popular short video app was used by nearly half of the United States' population and had experienced a temporary blackout last month before the law came into effect on January 19. The law requires Chinese-based parent company TikTok, ByteDance, to sell the app for national security reasons or face bans.

In January last year, TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified before Congress alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other technology and media leaders at a hearing highlighting the failure of the platform to protect children from the growing threat of online sexual exploitation.

Responding to a question from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, then CEO of TikTok said that the company would allocate more than $2 billion for trust and security efforts.

In October last year, TikTok also laid off hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a large number of staff in Malaysia, as part of the company's shift in focus to rely more on artificial intelligence (AI) in content moderation. TikTok claims to have 40,000 professionals in the field of trust and security globally.