There were a plethora of technical issues on the TikTok platform in the US this weekend, prompting lots of online speculation that the problems were the result of alterations being made behind the scenes following the change in ownership of TikTok USA.
That - and a change to the platform’s terms of service - have also further fuelled debate to the effect that TikTok USA now being controlled by American investors and Donald Trump allies could negatively impact on the service within the US market, for either technical or political reasons.
That too is currently all speculation, though it is still a cause of concern for many American artists and creators who rely on the platform to reach and engage their fans.
After years of uncertainty about whether or not TikTok would be allowed to continue operating in the US, there is now new uncertainty over whether or not creators will want to continue using the platform.
According to The Verge, among the issues being raised by TikTok users in the US this weekend were “difficulty logging in, an inability to upload videos, a For You Page algorithm that appeared to have reset itself and problems loading comments”. The DownDetector website also documented the issues, reporting that they spiked in the early hours of Sunday morning.
All this happened following the news last week that TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance had sold the app’s US business to a new company controlled by American investors, most prominently tech company Oracle, whose founder and Chairman, centibillionaire Larry Ellison, is a long-time Trump fan.
Oracle is part of a consortium that owns half of the new TikTok USA business, with ByteDance continuing to control 19.9% and ByteDance investors 30.1%.
We don’t actually know if any major technical changes were made to TikTok within the US this weekend following the change in ownership. The surge in technical issues could be a coincidence. However, many of those discussing the issues on social media and Reddit were convinced that the creation of a new TikTok USA company and the technical problems must be connected in some way.
What we do know is that new TikTok terms of service went into effect on Friday as a result of the new ownership structure. That was mainly because US users needed to formally enter into a contract with the newly created company, though a number of edits were also made to the terms, which have been the subject of some scrutiny.
According to Wired, the changes in terms allow TikTok to more precisely track a user’s location, to store information about how users interact with AI tools and to further leverage data for online advertising.
In the context of social media, none of those changes are necessarily unusual or surprising, but some are nevertheless scrutinising the changes being made to TikTok’s terms and functionality from a political perspective.
ByteDance was forced to sell TikTok USA as a result of a law passed by US Congress in 2024 under the Joe Biden presidency. That law was prompted by concerns on both sides of the US political spectrum that the Chinese government had access to TikTok user data, or could influence what content TikTok users see, via its China-based owner.
In theory the creation of TikTok USA allays those fears, even though there are still close connections between TikTok in the US and TikTok in the rest of the world, with the new US business licensing the all important TikTok algorithm from ByteDance.
But for some, the change in ownership sparks new fears. Instead of being concerned that the government in Beijing has access to TikTok user-data and control over the TikTok algorithm, the concern now is that the government in Washington has - or could have - similar access and control. And for some Americans, that’s almost more concerning.
Of course, that’s all currently speculation, in no small part centred on Ellison’s key position at TikTok USA. Ellison was a close Trump ally long before all the other tech billionaires jumped on the Trump-loving bandwagon, and he and his son are currently building quite the media empire, with Ellison Junior in control of Paramount Skydance.
Because of the concerns that Ellison might instigate Trump-favouring changes to the TikTok algorithm within the US, some content creators feared this weekend’s technical issues were because their videos had fallen foul of new editorial rules being enforced on the TikTok platform. Especially those content creators posting about the dramatic events currently unfolding in Minneapolis.
The Verge writes, “many drew a link between TikTok’s issues, its US operation’s new Trump-friendly owners and this weekend’s anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, exacerbated by the killing of a second local resident, Alex Pretti, by federal agents”.
When those posting content criticising events in Minneapolis couldn’t get their videos to upload, and saw their For You Pages suddenly populated by generic content, some “assumed the worst”.
“So far there’s no reason to believe that the outage was directly linked to this weekend’s ICE activity”, The Verge stresses, as the technical problems seemed to impact on a diverse range of creators, and even some outside the US. And even if the change of ownership did cause the issues with TikTok this weekend, that is probably more likely for technical rather than political reasons.
Others raised concerns this weekend about a section in the new TikTok terms that says the app can collect sensitive information about its users, including their “sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status”.
It’s understandable why that term might seem concerning in the context of current American politics. But, as TechCrunch reports, it isn’t actually new - it appeared in TikTok’s small print before last week - and similar terms can be found on other social media sites in the US. “It’s primarily there to comply with state privacy laws like California’s Consumer Privacy Act”, TechCrunch explains.
So, while there were definitely some changes at TikTok USA this weekend, the scale of those changes may not be as significant as some people believe. Though, at least some TikTok creators will continue to monitor the platform to see if there are any long-term changes to the user experience within the US. If there are, some creators may wonder if they need to focus on publishing their videos elsewhere.