TikTok Restructures Trust and Safety Team with Global Layoffs

The layoffs, part of a company-wide restructuring, come as TikTok faces pressure to divest from its Chinese parent ByteDance to avoid a potential U.S. ban.

• TikTok has begun laying off staff in its trust and safety unit, which oversees content moderation, as part of a global restructuring effort.
• The layoffs have already affected teams in regions including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with the extent of cuts in the U.S. still unclear.
• This move follows TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's earlier testimony to Congress, where he pledged over $2 billion for trust and safety initiatives to address national security concerns.
• TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, faces an April 5 deadline to sell its U.S. operations or risk a nationwide ban due to security concerns raised by lawmakers.
• The restructuring aligns with TikTok's increasing reliance on AI for content moderation, following earlier layoffs in October focused on similar operational shifts.

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