In the charged atmosphere of early 2026, TikTok’s freshly minted U.S. joint venture faces a firestorm of accusations just days after sealing a deal to avert a national ban. Users claim the app is throttling anti-Trump videos, blocking mentions of Jeffrey Epstein in messages, and suppressing content about Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. TikTok insists a data center power outage is the culprit behind the glitches, not deliberate censorship. The controversy erupts amid the platform’s shift to majority American ownership, spotlighting tensions between technical mishaps and fears of algorithmic bias under new leadership backed by Trump allies.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom amplified the outcry on January 26, posting on X that his office had “received reports — and independently confirmed instances — of suppressed content critical of President Trump.” His press team announced a review, urging the California Department of Justice to probe potential violations of state transparency laws on content moderation, such as AB 587 from 2022. Newsom reposted screenshots of users unable to send messages containing “Epstein,” triggering an error: “This message may be in violation of our Community Guidelines, and has not been sent to protect our community.” CNBC replicated the issue, though broader censorship claims remain unverified.

Freelance journalist David Leavitt’s viral X post, amassing over a million views, showed his videos flagged as “Ineligible for Recommendation,” alleging targeting of anti-Trump and anti-ICE material. Celebrities like Billie Eilish and Megan Stalter joined the chorus on Instagram, decrying restrictions on ICE-related posts. The Tennessee Holler, a left-leaning account with nearly 400,000 followers, reported videos dropping from tens of thousands to zero views. Sen. Chris Murphy called it a top threat to democracy on Bluesky. Forbes noted suspicions tied to new owner Larry Ellison’s Trump ties.

New Ownership Amid National Security Storm

The timing couldn’t be worse for TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, announced January 23. ByteDance retains 19.9%, while U.S. and global investors hold 80.1%, including Oracle (15%), Silver Lake (15%), and MGX (15%). Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a vocal Trump supporter, was floated as a buyer in 2025. President Trump issued executive orders last year to keep the app alive during divestiture talks after the Supreme Court upheld a law mandating ByteDance’s exit over national security fears. NBC News highlighted how the ownership shift fueled distrust.

Glitches hit as ICE conducted its largest operation in Minneapolis, sparking outrage over fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, including Alex Pretti on Saturday, January 24. Users reported upload failures, zero views, and search issues for ICE content. Downdetector logged thousands of complaints. TikTok’s head of communications Jamie Favazza told NBC the issues stemmed from the outage, not politics: “the worries of censorship were unfounded.” Wired described it as a trust crisis testing the new owners.

TikTok’s X update hours before Newsom’s post stated: “We’re continuing to resolve a major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage at one of our U.S. data centers.” It explained cascading failures causing bugs, slow loads, timed-out posts, and temporary zero metrics for creators. A spokesperson added: “videos of the incident in Minnesota were available on the platform and had been since Saturday.” On Epstein, they said the platform “does not prohibit sharing the name ‘Epstein’ in messages and that it is investigating.” NBC Los Angeles covered Newsom’s push under state law.

Epstein Files and Heightened Scrutiny

Jeffrey Epstein’s shadow looms large, with the DOJ releasing document batches since December 2025 but withholding full “Epstein files.” Users testing censorship by invoking his name in DMs repeatedly hit blocks, prompting #TikTokCensorship to trend on X. NPR reported TikTok probing the DM glitch amid outages affecting its 200 million U.S. users. The confluence with ICE raids—where Acting Director Todd Lyons touted the “largest immigration operation ever”—intensified claims of selective suppression. NPR.

Outage trackers and user reports on Reddit and X suggested inconsistencies: some non-political content glitched too, but political clips, especially anti-ICE or Trump-critical, bore the brunt. The Verge noted even UK news like BBC clips were inaccessible in the U.S. TikTok insisted recovery was underway with data center partners, denying intent. A joint venture rep told The Guardian: “It would be inaccurate to report that this is anything but the technical issues we’ve transparently confirmed.” The Guardian.

Broader reactions poured in. LA Times detailed complaints of low engagement on videos condemning ICE actions or Alex Pretti’s killing. Indy100 highlighted fleeing users and algorithm shifts post-deal. MacRumors and AOL echoed outage attributions amid skepticism. LA Times quoted Newsom: “It’s time to investigate.”

Regulatory Reckoning and Platform Fallout

Newsom’s probe invokes California’s mandate for moderation transparency, potentially escalating to federal scrutiny. A federal judge ordered DHS briefings on ICE raids pressuring Minnesota’s sanctuary policies. Users migrated to alternatives, with some calling the app a “hyper-echo chamber” risk. TikTok’s U.S. entity, now Culver City-based, must prove operational independence from ByteDance amid ongoing DOJ Epstein releases.

The incident underscores vulnerabilities in post-divestiture transitions: a single data center failure rippling into conspiracy fodder. As repairs continue, creators monitor views, and politicians posture, TikTok’s American chapter begins with a stark reminder that in polarized times, every bug invites bias charges. Industry watchers await forensic dives into logs to settle outage versus oversight debates.