Former TikTok content moderators have filed a legal claim against the social media company, accusing it of unfair dismissal and breaching trade union laws after hundreds were fired in London just before a vote to form a union. The moderators allege that TikTok engaged in 'oppressive and intimidating' union busting.
About 400 moderators were dismissed before Christmas, with the process initiated a week before a scheduled ballot on establishing a collective bargaining unit. The Communication Workers Union, which represented around 250 affected workers, said the sackings were aimed at preventing unionisation.
TikTok has denied the claims, calling them 'baseless', and stated the redundancies were part of a global restructuring driven by increased use of artificial intelligence to automate content moderation. The company said 91% of violating content is now removed automatically, reducing moderators' exposure to graphic material by 76% over the past year.
The legal action, backed by the tech justice non-profit Foxglove, alleges that TikTok announced the restructuring in August 2025, just as the union was preparing to ballot hundreds of moderators and quality assurance agents. Rosa Curling, co-executive director of Foxglove, described the treatment of moderators as 'appalling', saying it prioritises union busting over user safety.
John Chadfield, national officer for tech workers at the CWU, said content moderators have 'the most dangerous job on the internet', exposed to child sex abuse material and violent content. Michael Newman, partner at Leigh Day, the law firm representing the former workers, said the case shows how individuals can stand up to big tech firms.
