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California investigates TikTok over censorship claims
California Governor Gavin Newsom has initiated a state-level review into allegations that TikTok is suppressing content critical of the Trump administration following its recent U.S. ownership change. The probe follows reports from users and independent confirmations of restricted political posts.
User reports and platform outages
Thousands of American TikTok users reported issues starting Sunday, including posts receiving zero views and political content disappearing from feeds. Many noted difficulties viewing criticism of a federal agent's shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Downdetector recorded over 663,000 reports of outages between Saturday and Monday.
Users described glitches such as slow loading, outdated video recommendations, and failed searches. Some creators found monetization tools inaccessible, while others saw new uploads stuck at zero views.
TikTok's response and infrastructure issues
TikTok attributed the problems to a "major infrastructure issue" caused by a power outage at an Oracle data center, which triggered a cascading systems failure. The company stated on Monday that it was working to resolve bugs, slow load times, and timed-out requests but assured users their data and engagement metrics remained secure.
Despite the explanation, speculation persists that the issues may be linked to TikTok's recent sale to a U.S. entity with alleged Trump administration ties. The platform has not commented on accusations that the outages are politically motivated.
Content flagging raises further concerns
Newsom's office highlighted additional censorship claims, including TikTok flagging messages containing the word "Epstein." Screenshots shared on social media showed the app blocking attempts to send Jeffrey Epstein's surname in direct messages. Similar restrictions were reported for other politically sensitive terms.
"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."
California Governor's Office
Celebrity backlash and public reaction
Public figures have amplified concerns. Actress Meg Stalter announced on Instagram that she deleted her TikTok account, citing "complete censorship and monitoring" under new ownership. Social media users echoed fears, with some declaring the platform "cooked" or "dead" post-acquisition.
A Reddit user wrote, "RIP TikTok 2016-2026," reflecting widespread frustration over perceived changes in content visibility and algorithm behavior.
Ownership structure and regulatory context
The investigation coincides with TikTok's operational split from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, as mandated by a Trump-era deal. Oracle, a cloud computing firm with a 15% stake in TikTok's U.S. entity, is responsible for auditing and retraining the platform's algorithm for American users.
Newsom's probe will examine whether TikTok violated California state laws, though no specific statutes were cited. The BBC has sought comment from TikTok's U.S. parent company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, but has not received a response.
