California orders review of TikTok after users report political content being hidden in the US
California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered a state review into TikTok after claims that the app has been limiting or hiding content that is critical of President Donald Trump and his administration following the change in ownership of the platform’s US operations.
The order for the review comes just days after TikTok finalised a deal to spin off its US business into a new joint venture, allowing the app to keep operating in the US. Soon after the deal closed, thousands of American users began reporting problems on the app, including posts stuck at “zero views,” search issues, and political videos failing to appear in feeds.
Newsom’s office said it had received confirmed reports of censorship tied to criticism of Trump. “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,” the governor’s office wrote on X. It added that Newsom would be “launching a review of this conduct and is calling on the California Department of Justice to determine whether it violates California law”.
Many users say the problems go beyond general glitches. Some reported being unable to see posts about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, while others claimed that direct messages containing the word “Epstein” failed to send. CNBC confirmed that messages using the word triggered an error, which read: “This message may be in violation of our Community Guidelines, and has not been sent to protect our community.”
TikTok says app issues are result of data centre power outage
TikTok denies that the issues are the result of censorship. The company says the disruptions were caused by a power outage at one of its data centre partners, Oracle, which led to widespread technical failures. In a statement, the TikTok US joint venture said users might experience bugs, slower load times, timed-out requests, and videos briefly showing zero views.
“While the network has been recovered, the outage caused a cascading systems failure that we’ve been working to resolve,” the company said, adding that it would be inaccurate to suggest the problems were anything other than technical.
Users left unconvinced that issues with app are only technical
Despite that explanation, suspicion has grown online, and has only been fuelled by the timing of the issues and the app’s new ownership structure. Celebrities and creators have publicly raised concerns. Actress Meg Stalter told her Instagram followers she deleted TikTok because the app was “under new ownership and we are being completely censored and monitored”.
Legal experts and academics have also flagged unusual behaviour. Georgetown law professor Steve Vladeck said a video he posted about immigration enforcement powers had been placed “under review”, while University of Colorado professor Casey Fiesler said she struggled to upload videos referring to the Minneapolis immigration crackdown.
What is the TikTok US deal and what does it mean?
The deal for TikTok’s US operations was designed to prevent a US ban on TikTok after years of national security concerns over its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Under the agreement, the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is majority US-owned, with American and global investors holding 80.1% and ByteDance retaining 19.9%. Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX each hold 15% stakes.
As part of the arrangement, Oracle will oversee US user data and inspect a separate version of TikTok’s algorithm for American users. The deal was approved by both US and Chinese authorities and praised by Trump, who has said TikTok helped him reach voters during the 2024 election.
For now, TikTok insists that political content remains available on the platform and says it is continuing to fix technical issues. But Newsom’s review adds legal pressure at a moment when trust in the app’s US relaunch is already fragile.
