The TikTok logo is displayed at a TikTok office on Jan. 23, 2026 in Culver City, California.
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TikTok’s U.S. app, now under majority American ownership, said a recent wave of glitches and content disruption was due to a power outage at one of its data centers, pushing back against claims that the platform was censoring political speech.
Users have reported issues with their accounts since the video-sharing app began operating under a newly-formed U.S.-led joint venture, following months of political pressure over its Chinese ownership.
Against the backdrop of a tense political environment in the U.S., a growing number of viral complaints about TikTok have accused the platform of censoring certain political positions and even the word “Epstein” within direct messaging.
CNBC confirmed that messages containing the word “Epstein” triggered an error message, but was unable to independently verify broader claims of political censorship.
Asked about the issues, a spokesperson for the TikTok joint venture told CNBC that the platform does not prohibit sharing the name ‘Epstein’ in messages and that it is investigating why some users are experiencing the problem, among others.
The sensitivity surrounding the messaging issue relates to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender. The Department of Justice has, since December, been releasing caches of documents tied to its investigations of Epstein, but has yet to release the entirety of the so-called “Epstein files.”
California scrutiny
The recent complaints about TikTok have been amplified by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose press office said in a Tuesday post on X that “our office has received reports — and independently confirmed instances — of suppressed content critical of President Trump.”
“[Gavin] Newsom is launching a review of this conduct and is calling on the California Department of Justice to determine whether it violates California law,” it added.
Newsom’s office didn’t provide evidence to support the claims, though many users have posted videos allegedly showing the issue. In a viral X post, freelance journalist David Leavitt shared a screenshot of videos on his profile that had been flagged as “Ineligible for Recommendation,” and claimed TikTok had begun censoring anti-Trump and anti-ICE content.
ICE refers to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is currently engaged in a politically charged operation in the city of Minneapolis. The fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens during federal enforcement actions by ICE have sparked outrage and political debate.
Just hours before Newsom issued his threat, the new TikTok joint venture posted an update on its X account saying the company was “continuing to resolve” its major infrastructure issue.
“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,” it said, adding that users may notice multiple bugs, slower load times, and timed-out requests when posting new content.
The company also said creators might temporarily see “0” views or likes on videos due to server timeouts.
When asked directly about recent accusations of censorship, including claims related to content about ICE, a TikTok USDS Joint Venture spokesperson said that videos of the incident in Minnesota were available on the platform and had been since Saturday.
Separately, users reported this week that direct messages containing the name “Epstein” failed to send through TikTok’s direct messaging feature. CNBC was able to recreate this error message when sending a message containing the name “Epstein.”
That message read: “This message may be in violation of our Community Guidelines, and has not been sent to protect our community.” Users were given the option to report potential mistakes.
Ownership overhaul
TikTok had faced a potential shutdown in the U.S. last year after the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring it to exit the market unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, divested the business, among other national security-related requirements.
Trump later issued a series of executive orders allowing the platform to remain online while negotiations over a divestment continued.
Last Thursday, TikTok announced it had formed a joint venture to keep the app operating in the U.S. under new leadership. Under the deal, ByteDance retains a 19.9% ownership stake, while U.S. and global investors hold 80.1%. Key investors include Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, each with a 15% stake.
Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison, a prominent Trump supporter, was previously floated by the U.S. President as a potential TikTok buyer as far back as January last year.
The Trump administration and a Trump-backed crypto firm have previously been involved in deals with MGX, an Emirati state-owned investment firm focused on artificial intelligence technologies.
— CNBC’s Matthew Chin contributed to this report
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