Data Workers' Inquiry

Unveiling: The Invisible Lives of TikTok Data Workers in London

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by Fasica Berhane

Cite this work as:

Berhane, F. (2026). Unveiling: The Invisible Lives of TikTok Data Workers in London. In: M. Miceli, A. Dinika, K. Kauffman, C. Salim Wagner, and L. Sachenbacher (eds.). Data Workers‘ Inquiry. Creative Commons BY 4.0. https://data-workers.org/fasica-UTAW

This piece can be used, shared, and adapted with proper attribution.

Trigger Warning

This report discusses unpleasant events, graphic content, depictions of violence and abuse. Readers‘ discretion is advised.

This work was supported by the United Tech & Allied Workers National Branch of the Communication Workers Union.

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About the AuthorS

Fasica Berhane Gebrekidan

For two years, Fasica worked as a Content Moderator for Meta/Facebook via Sama in Nairobi until she was unlawfully laid off for attempting to form a data workers’ union. She has firsthand experience moderating in regions and communities impacted by conflict and war. Fasica has also worked as a co-researcher for the Distributed AI Research Institute, DAIR. She has a BA in Journalism and Communications from Mekelle University in Ethiopia and five years of experience as a Senior Reporter at The Ethiopian Herald Daily English newspaper, covering gender equality, women’s rights, disability issues, youth, and social matters. Fasica loves to travel, read, and have deep conversations with people around her. In her leisure time, she likes to paint and write poetry.

United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW)

United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW) are a national branch of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) formed in 2020. We are the UK’s only union specifically for all workers in the tech industry, and we’re proud to represent more tech workers than anyone else.

The CWU campaigns nationally for workers in tech, telecoms, post and communications – offering legal support amongst other benefits, and providing a collective political voice for 180,000 workers.