In January last year, TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi testified before Congress alongside Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and other tech and media heads in a hearing where lawmakers accused the companies of failing to protect children from escalating threats of sexual predation on their platforms.
Replying to questions from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Chew had said that the company would spend more than US$2 billion on trust and safety efforts.
In October last year, the company laid off hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a large number of staff in Malaysia as it shifts focus towards a greater use of AI in content moderation.
TikTok says it has 40,000 trust and safety professionals worldwide. Reuters was not able to immediately establish the extent of these cuts.
