Challenges Persist for TikTok Amid Ownership Changes

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

TikTok is currently facing a series of challenges as it navigates through a new ownership structure in the United States. Censorship claims, technical issues, and reports of app deletions have been prevalent since the finalization of the ownership change last week.

One major infrastructure issue arose due to a power outage at one of TikTok’s U.S. data center partner sites, causing bugs such as zero views on videos and slow load times. Despite significant progress in restoring services, glitches are still being experienced by users.

Concerns have also been raised about potential censorship on the platform, particularly regarding videos critical of President Trump, ICE, or Jeffrey Epstein. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has initiated a review to investigate these claims of censorship.

While some users have raised doubts about the technical issues being solely responsible for the challenges, others have expressed concerns about the ties some new owners have to President Trump. This has led to a surge in app uninstalls, although daily average users have increased slightly, indicating minimal impact on overall usage.

Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley highlighted the importance of optics and perceptions, noting that user perception of content suppression or difficulty in uploading may lead to a decline in TikTok usage. However, she also emphasized that user behavior can be unpredictable, citing past instances of protest against TikTok that did not have a lasting impact.

As TikTok continues to undergo infrastructure changes and address technical issues, the platform may face further challenges if censorship claims persist or user perception shifts negatively. Adaptation and transparency will be key for TikTok to maintain its user base amidst these challenges.

This article was originally published on AP News.