TikTok has rejected claims that its newly separated US operation is restricting what users can post, saying technical problems linked to infrastructure changes are behind widespread glitches reported by American users over the past several days.
Technical Issues Follow US Spin Off
TikTok said problems began after its US business became a standalone entity last week, following a deal to separate operations from its Chinese parent, ByteDance. A TikTok US spokesperson told the BBC the company had made progress restoring systems with its US data centre partner but said some users may still face issues when posting content.
“We’ve made significant progress in recovering our US infrastructure with our US data center partner,” the spokesperson said. “However, the US user experience may still have some technical issues, including when posting new content.”
Thousands of users reported seeing zero views on newly uploaded videos shortly after the ownership change.
Claims Over Blocked Terms And Political Content
TikTok also denied claims that users were being prevented from using the word “Epstein” on the platform. The name refers to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and financier whose case continues to draw scrutiny of the Donald Trump administration.
The company said there are no rules against sharing the name “Epstein” in direct messages. Social media posts seen by BBC News showed some users receiving warnings when attempting to send messages containing the surname, which TikTok said were not the result of content restrictions.
Users also reported difficulties viewing political content, including posts criticising the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
California Investigation Announced
Gavin Newsom announced an investigation into claims that TikTok has censored content critical of President Trump. Newsom’s office said it had received confirmed reports of suppressed content following TikTok’s sale to a Trump aligned business group.
“Following TikTok’s sale to a Trump aligned business group, our office has received reports and independently confirmed instances of suppressed content critical of President Trump,” Newsom’s office wrote on X, linking to screenshots that appeared to show TikTok flagging messages containing the word “Epstein”.
The governor’s office said it would review the content and examine whether state laws had been breached.
New Ownership Structure In The US
TikTok US is now managed by a consortium of investors. These include Oracle, TikTok US’s sole data centre partner, chaired by Larry Ellison, a Republican donor and longtime Trump ally. US investment firm Silver Lake and Emirati investor MGX also hold stakes, while ByteDance retains a 19.9% ownership share.
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer Corp and a Trump donor, is also an investor in TikTok US.
As part of the agreement allowing TikTok to continue operating in the US, Oracle will inspect and retrain a separate version of the app’s algorithm for American users.
User Reports And Platform Outage
Users across the US have continued to report issues since Sunday, including slow loading times, older videos appearing in feeds, and search results failing to display expected content. Some creators said monetisation tools were unavailable, while others reported that newly uploaded videos were not gaining visibility.
Outage tracking service Downdetector said it received 663,061 reports from US TikTok users between Saturday and Monday.
TikTok US said users might notice bugs, slower load times, or timed out requests as it worked to resolve problems triggered by a power outage at one of Oracle’s data centres. The company said the outage caused a cascading systems failure and added that user data and content engagement remained secure.
Celebrity Reaction And Public Concern
Some public figures have voiced concern about the changes. Actress Meg Stalter said on Instagram that she had deleted her TikTok account, claiming the app was under new ownership and that users were being censored and monitored.
Similar concerns have appeared widely on social media, with US users questioning whether the platform’s functionality and content visibility had been altered.
TikTok said most reported issues have been limited to the US and that it continues to work on restoring full functionality.
Featured image credits: Flickr
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