TikTok's New Era: Platform Glitches or Content Control Concerns?

As TikTok transitions into a new era of American ownership, users are grappling with a troubling question: are recent upload failures the result of technical glitches, or something more deliberate? The timing couldn't be more conspicuous.Comedian Megan Stalter, with hundreds of thousands of followers across social platforms, experienced this firsthand when her video condemning ICE raids in Minneapolis—sparked by the death of nurse Alex Pretti—uploaded successfully to Instagram but repeatedly failed on TikTok. After multiple attempts, she deleted her TikTok account entirely, convinced her content was being censored.Stalter wasn't alone. Multiple creators reported similar experiences over the weekend, drawing connections between their ICE-related content and upload difficulties. The pattern caught the attention of Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who labeled the alleged censorship as among the top "threats to democracy."TikTok's explanation? A power outage at a US data center caused widespread technical issues, unrelated to recent political developments. The company stated that the outages were affecting upload speeds and content recommendations across the platform.This technical explanation comes at a particularly sensitive moment. Last week, a majority American-owned joint venture assumed control of TikTok's US operations, with Oracle—led by Trump ally Larry Ellison—serving as a key partner. The transition fulfills requirements under a 2024 law mandating Chinese divestment or facing a US ban."There's not a lot of trust in the leadership of social media platforms in general," explains Casey Fiesler, a technology ethics professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "Given the connection of the new ownership to the Trump administration, which is deeply involved in ICE operations, the lack of trust is understandable."The technical versus censorship debate highlights a fundamental challenge in platform governance. Even if upload failures are genuinely technical, the opacity of content moderation systems makes definitive proof nearly impossible. As Jeffrey Blevins from the University of Cincinnati notes, private platforms have the legal right to moderate content as they see fit—they're not bound by First Amendment protections like government entities.Nurse and author Jen Hamilton, with 4.5 million TikTok followers, became suspicious when her video about 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos being detained by federal agents failed to upload on January 22—the same day the ownership transition was announced. "Something has shifted in the way content is getting put on the platform," she observed.The uncertainty is driving user exodus. According to SensorTower, TikTok uninstalls have surged nearly 150% over the past five days compared to the previous three months. Some creators are exploring alternative platforms like Substack and Patreon for more direct audience relationships.Yet Hamilton refuses to abandon TikTok entirely. In a video that successfully uploaded, she cleverly coded her message as "fashion influencing," demonstrating how creators adapt to perceived restrictions. "The purpose of having people feel their content isn't safe is to get them to stop speaking out," she suggests.Whether technical glitch or intentional moderation, the episode reveals the precarious relationship between platform power and democratic discourse. As TikTok enters its American chapter, the challenge lies not just in technical stability, but in maintaining user trust during a period of unprecedented political sensitivity.Source: CNN Business