TikTok logo on a smartphone. Image: Solen Feyissa/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Meanwhile, an investigation released today found evidence of far-right political bias in TikTok’s algorithms in Germany.
TikTok is laying off employees from its trust and safety unit, emerging reports have revealed. The move is affecting employees in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, although it is unclear how many of the company’s Irish employees will be affected by the abrupt layoff.
According to Reuters, Adam Presser, the company’s head of operations and trust and safety sent out a memo to staff today (20 February) informing them of the move. SiliconRepublic.com has reached out to TikTok for comments.
The layoffs come as TikTok’s fate in the US hangs in the balance. The platform has just a few weeks left before it once again faces a ban in the country, once president Donald Trump’s executive order postponing the move reaches its deadline.
The app was previously banned in the US – albeit only for a few hours – after the Supreme Court upheld a legislation which forced TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to either divest from its US business or exit the country.
Although fears around TikTok were first provoked by Trump – who attempted to ban the app during his first term – his stance has since flip-flopped. Moreover, news outlets report that Trump has appointed vice-president JD Vance to oversee the negotiations for a potential TikTok sale which would allow the platform to stay in the country.
TikTok’s content moderation practices have repeatedly come under fire over the years. Today, Global Witness, an international NGO, published the results of an investigation that showed that its recommendation algorithms have shown evidence of far-right political bias in Germany, ahead of the country’s federal election that takes place on Sunday.
According to the investigation, 78pc of political content recommended by the algorithm from accounts the users did not follow was supportive far-right German political party Alternative für Deutschland.
This comes after a similar investigation conducted by the NGO in Ireland prior to last year’s general elections found “significant failings” in TikTok’s ability to moderate disinformation and political content. According to its findings, TikTok’s ability to moderate content in both English and Irish failed to meet standards, with both language content showing “major weaknesses in what should have been a very easy test”.
While its investigation into TikTok’s US platform rang a similar tune, the NGO did note that TikTok had improved its moderation systems at the time.
More seriously however, the European Commission recently opened formal proceedings against the social media platform after far-right and pro-Russian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu won the first round of the Romanian elections in November. Georgescu’s victory raised questions about how posts on TikTok could have led to his surprising victory.
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TikTok logo on a smartphone. Image: Solen Feyissa/ Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
