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TikTok says it is investigating why users of the platform have been allegedly prevented from using the word “Epstein” in direct messages.
It comes after several public figures, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and musicians such as Billie Eilish, accused TikTok of censoring videos that criticised the Trump administration and its crackdown on immigration.
The controversy follows a major restructuring of TikTok’s US operations. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, was forced to divest its majority stake in the platform’s US business. A separate US TikTok entity is now owned by a majority-American board of predominantly US investors.
The platform’s content recommendation algorithm has been licensed to Oracle, a tech company headed by Trump ally Larry Ellison.
“We don’t have rules against sharing the name ‘Epstein’ in direct messages and are investigating why some users are experiencing issues,” a spokesman for TikTok’s US operation told NPR in a statement on Tuesday.
Since the takeover last week, TikTok users have also alleged that videos about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and protests in Minneapolis have been censored.
TikTok said in a statement on Monday night that it was dealing with a “major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage” at one of its US data centres and suggested that this was causing “multiple bugs” for users.
“Creators may temporarily see ‘O’ views or likes on videos, and your earnings may look like they’re missing. This is a display error caused by server timeouts,” it added.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that he will investigate whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring content.
“It’s time to investigate,” he wrote in a post to X on Monday night. “I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content.”
Newsom’s press office also said in a statement: “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.”
Euronews Next has reached out to TikTok for comment but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.