TikTok Germany moderators warn over looming layoffs

German TikTok Staff Protest AI‑Driven Moderation

The trust and safety team at TikTok’s German headquarters fired up a demonstration on Thursday, warning that the planned shift to artificial‑intelligence moderation could expose users to a surge of hate speech and propaganda.

Protest Details

• About 50 people gathered near the TikTok Germany offices, many of whom belong to the 150‑strong “trust and safety” department in Berlin.
• Participants carried a banner that read: “We trained your machines, pay us what we deserve.”
• They cited a recent round of layoffs as a precedent and demanded the company reverse plans to eliminate the department entirely.

Role of Human Moderators

TikTok’s content moderators are tasked with filtering out hate speech, misinformation, and pornographic material from the platform, which counted over 20 million German users as of late 2023.

Industry Trend

The German row reflects a broader global trend, with social‑media giants reducing human fact‑checkers in favor of AI. In October, TikTok—part of China’s ByteDance—announced worldwide job cuts as part of its AI‑assisted moderation shift.

Union and Union‑Support

• The union ver.di backs the moderators, claiming that TikTok has refused to negotiate and that strike action is on the way if the company proceeds.
• One moderator, 32‑year‑old Benjamin Karkowski, said staff were “shocked” when they learned of the company’s plans via a management message.
• Another moderator, 36‑year‑old Sara Tegge, argued that the AI can’t discern whether content discriminates against certain groups, nor can it judge the danger of certain posts. She cited a case where AI flagged harmless Berlin LGBT+ pride videos as breaking TikTok’s political protest guidelines.
• She expressed a “certain fear” that users may be exposed to greater danger if the company moves ahead.

Political Support

Werner Graf, leader of the Green Party’s lawmakers in Berlin’s state assembly, joined the Thursday demonstration. He said: “These people have been fighting so that the internet isn’t permanently overwhelmed with fake news and hate speech.” Graf added that in the political arena, content checks cannot be left solely to AI; legislation must ensure human moderation remains in place.