TikTok Tops 189 Million EU Users Despite Moderator Cuts

TikTok’s latest disclosure under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) shows the platform now has 189 million monthly active users across the region, adding 9 million users in the first half of 2026 alone. Large online platforms are required to publish these biannual updates, covering user numbers, moderation staffing, and policy violations.

User Growth Falls Short of Earlier Claims

While the growth is steady, it falls short of TikTok’s own announcement last September, when the company said it had already crossed 200 million EU users. The official DSA figures suggest that milestone hasn’t quite been reached yet. Globally, TikTok’s audience breaks down to roughly 200 million users in the U.S., 30 million in the U.K., 228 million in South America, and 460 million across Asia Pacific. The app remains banned in India, restricted in Russia, and unavailable in mainland China, where a separate local version operates instead.

Moderation Workforce Continues to Shrink

TikTok’s report also revealed it removed about 104 million policy-violating uploads in the first half of 2026, with 94.1% of those removals handled through automated systems rather than human review. Although the company added 64 human moderators in the EU compared to its previous reporting period, its overall moderation staff has dropped sharply over time — from 6,354 EU moderators reported in October 2024 to just 3,738 today.

Together, the figures paint a picture of a platform still expanding its reach in Europe while relying increasingly on automation to manage content moderation at scale.