TikTok automated content moderation

entry · p2026-09-07-033 · validated

Between July and December 2025, we removed around 112 million pieces of content

tech: tiktok-automated-moderation
passes the definition as: classifiers fit to labelled violating videos, comments, ads and listings that remove content without human review
from: 2025-07-01
region: EU
domain: safety
side: benefit
people: 178,000,000 people in the EU using TikTok monthly (2026-04-29)
effect: 112,000,000 pieces of content removed (2025-12-31) — violating videos, live streams, ads, product listings and comments removed in the EU in six months, 93.8% of them by automation
reversible: yes
who holds the switch: owner:TikTok (ByteDance)
attribution: named
source kind: primary
the statistic: TikTok's sixth DSA transparency report (published 29 April 2026, covering July–December 2025): 178 million people in the EU use TikTok monthly; around 112 million pieces of violating content were removed; automated systems actioned 93.8% of all violating content with no human review, and TikTok reports 97.6% of automated enforcement decisions were confirmed correct.
source: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/digital-services-act-our-sixth-transparency-report-on-content-moderation-in-europe?lang=en-150
proposed by: researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06 second harvest, feeds-ads-moderation
received: 2026-09-06T13:34:02-04:00
harvest report: impacts/harvest/2026-09-07-feeds-ads-moderation.md

Rulings, in order

2026-09-06T13:34:54-04:00 · validatorpass — quote found on the fetched page (exact match; HTTP 200 text/html; charset=utf-8)
2026-09-06T13:38:18-04:00 · sessionseverity — Violating content removed before EU users see it: a safety convenience, small per person, reversible, owner-held — ordinary on the benefit side. Reach on the 178,000,000 monthly EU users (people, 2026).

The proposal as it arrived (JSON)

{
 "id": "p2026-09-07-033",
 "received": "2026-09-06T13:34:02-04:00",
 "proposer": "researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06 second harvest, feeds-ads-moderation",
 "kind": "entry",
 "sha": "227274707756a09c",
 "data": {
  "kind": "entry",
  "tech": "tiktok-automated-moderation",
  "tech_name": "TikTok automated content moderation",
  "definition": "classifiers fit to labelled violating videos, comments, ads and listings that remove content without human review",
  "from": "2025-07-01",
  "region": "EU",
  "domain": "safety",
  "side": "benefit",
  "people": {
   "n": 178000000,
   "unit": "people in the EU using TikTok monthly",
   "date": "2026-04-29"
  },
  "effect": {
   "n": 112000000,
   "unit": "pieces of content removed",
   "date": "2025-12-31",
   "what": "violating videos, live streams, ads, product listings and comments removed in the EU in six months, 93.8% of them by automation"
  },
  "reversible": true,
  "switch": "owner:TikTok (ByteDance)",
  "statistic": "TikTok's sixth DSA transparency report (published 29 April 2026, covering July–December 2025): 178 million people in the EU use TikTok monthly; around 112 million pieces of violating content were removed; automated systems actioned 93.8% of all violating content with no human review, and TikTok reports 97.6% of automated enforcement decisions were confirmed correct.",
  "source": "https://newsroom.tiktok.com/digital-services-act-our-sixth-transparency-report-on-content-moderation-in-europe?lang=en-150",
  "quote": "Between July and December 2025, we removed around 112 million pieces of content",
  "attribution": "named",
  "source_kind": "primary"
 },
 "from_file": "impacts/harvest/2026-09-07-feeds-ads-moderation.md"
}