TikTok is under new ownership in the U.S., but many users are noticing it’s no longer the platform it used to be.
Now under new U.S. ownership, TikTok is facing widespread criticism from users alleging rampant censorship.
Just one day before the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, TikTok users discovered that they could not post videos that dared to be critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Other users noticed they couldn’t send messages containing the word “Epstein,” which was ironic, as this began to happen after the new U.S. ownership deal.
The backlash was swift, with celebrities, politicians, and influencers hopping on social media to claim this was all an effort to keep anti-Trump content off the platform.
Newsweek reports that TikTok has denied there is any censorship going on, with TikTok USDS Joint Venture telling the website that nothing is barring people from posting about the disgraced financier and sex trafficker, claiming the term was “being flagged incorrectly by the app’s safety system.”
Despite their explanation, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he would launch a review into TikTok’s alleged violation of a state law by censoring content that criticizes President Trump.
Anti-ICE Posts Are Also Being Surpressed On TikTok
The Epstein ban wasn’t the only issue plaguing TikTok; users also complained about anti-ICE sentiment being suppressed on the platform in the wake of Pretti’s fatal shooting.
Per Newsweek:
While the alleged “Epstein” censorship added fuel to the fire, the bulk of the criticism against TikTok has been about the alleged suppression of anti-ICE messages, especially in the wake of Pretti’s death. TikTok again denied any content suppression related to the shooting and said the issues users experienced over the weekend were due to a data center outage.
Author David Leavitt, who has 14,400 followers on TikTok, shared a screenshot of a video he was trying to upload that said, “ineligible for recommendation,” and wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that TikTok had begun “censoring anti-Trump and anti-ICE content.”
Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, reposted Leavitt’s message and called the alleged censorship “top of the list” of the threats to democracy America is facing.
Musician Finneas O’Connell, the brother of pop star Billie Eilish, has 3.9 million followers on TikTok, and a video he posted over the weekend about Pretti’s death got a little over 100 likes. Eilish posted the video on her Instagram with the caption that TikTok was “silencing people.” The video has since amassed hundreds of thousands of likes and comments from people accusing TikTok of silencing O’Connell.
Democratic political analyst Emily Amick posted on Instagram that her account was suspended after she was posting about ICE.
Spooky times.
You can see reactions to TikTok becoming suspect below.
