TikTok reaches 189 million EU users while shrinking its human moderation team

TikTok keeps growing in Europe. The platform’s newest disclosure under the EU Digital Services Act, covering the first half of 2026, puts its monthly user base in the bloc at 189 million, roughly 42 percent of the EU population. The figure compares with 178 million reported for the second half of 2025 and 169.5 million a year earlier, meaning the app has added about 20 million European users in twelve months.

The same filing shows the other side of the ledger. TikTok says it employed 3,738 human moderators for the EU during the period, 64 more than in the previous half-year but roughly 2,600 fewer than the 6,354 it reported in October 2024. Over six months it removed about 104 million uploads for policy violations, with 94.1 percent of those actions taken by automated systems without a human review. The previous report, published in April, cited 112 million removals and a 93.8 percent automation rate.

Regionally, Europe remains TikTok’s third-largest market by users behind Asia-Pacific (460 million) and South America (228 million), and sits just below the 200 million the company reports for the United States.

Why it matters

For advertisers the headline is straightforward: reach in the EU is still expanding at a pace no rival short-video product can match, and Brussels’ scrutiny has not dented usage. But the automation ratio matters for brand safety. TikTok is already under formal Commission proceedings, which in February 2026 produced a preliminary finding that its design breaches DSA rules on addictive features, and it has accepted binding commitments to deliver a fully searchable ad repository by December 2026, as tracked by Social Media Transparency. Leaning further on machines while the moderation headcount stays flat gives regulators an obvious question to ask.

The Polish picture

Poland is one of the markets driving the trend. According to Mediapanel data reported by Wirtualne Media, TikTok had 16.4 million Polish users in March 2026, a 55 percent reach, and was closing on Instagram’s 17.1 million. More striking is time spent: the average Polish TikTok user logged about 22.5 hours in the month, ahead of Facebook’s 18.4 hours and four times Instagram’s. Attention, not just reach, is where the platform is winning, and where the next EU enforcement debate about recommender design will be fought.