TikTok Blames Data Center Outage for US App Issues, Denies Censorship

TikTok Faces Political Firestorm Over Technical Glitches

TikTok's newly formed U.S. joint venture is facing intense scrutiny after widespread technical issues sparked allegations of political censorship on the popular video-sharing platform. The company attributes the problems to a power outage at one of its data centers, but users and politicians aren't convinced.

Technical Issues or Political Censorship?

Since TikTok began operating under its new U.S.-led ownership structure last week, users have reported numerous problems including messages containing the word 'Epstein' triggering error warnings, videos showing zero views, and content allegedly being suppressed. 'Our office has received reports — and independently confirmed instances — of suppressed content critical of President Trump,' California Governor Gavin Newsom's office stated in a social media post announcing a formal review.

The timing couldn't be more sensitive. TikTok recently completed a landmark ownership restructuring to comply with U.S. national security requirements. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, now retains just 19.9% ownership, while U.S. and global investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX hold 80.1% through the newly formed TikTok USDS Joint Venture.

California Launches Formal Investigation

Governor Newsom's announcement has escalated the situation from user complaints to official government action. 'Newsom is launching a review of this conduct and is calling on the California Department of Justice to determine whether it violates California law,' his office stated. The investigation will examine whether TikTok's content moderation practices constitute illegal political bias.

Freelance journalist David Leavitt shared viral screenshots showing his videos flagged as 'Ineligible for Recommendation' and claimed TikTok had begun censoring anti-Trump and anti-ICE content. ICE refers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been conducting controversial operations in Minneapolis that resulted in fatal shootings.

TikTok's Technical Explanation

TikTok maintains that the issues are purely technical. 'While the network has been recovered, the outage caused a cascading systems failure that we've been working to resolve with our data center partner,' the company stated on social media. They explained that users might experience multiple bugs, slower load times, and timed-out requests when posting content.

The company also addressed specific concerns about the 'Epstein' messaging issue. A spokesperson told CNBC that 'the platform does not prohibit sharing the name 'Epstein' in messages' and that they're investigating why some users are experiencing the problem. CNBC was able to recreate the error message when sending messages containing 'Epstein,' which triggered a warning about potential Community Guidelines violations.

Ownership Changes Raise Questions

The controversy comes just days after TikTok's ownership overhaul. Oracle, which now holds a 15% stake in the U.S. venture, is led by Larry Ellison, a prominent supporter of former President Trump. This connection has raised eyebrows among users concerned about potential political influence.

The ownership shift follows years of U.S. pressure on ByteDance over national security risks. The Supreme Court upheld a law requiring TikTok to exit the U.S. market unless ByteDance divested the business. After several extensions granted by the Trump administration, the joint venture solution was finally implemented last week.

As the technical issues continue to affect millions of users, the platform finds itself caught between infrastructure problems and political suspicions. With California's investigation underway and users migrating to alternative platforms, TikTok's future in the U.S. faces new challenges despite its recent ownership restructuring.