TikTok Addresses US App Issues Amid Censorship Concerns

TikTok Working to Resolve US App Issues Amid Censorship Speculation

TikTok’s newly created US operations team is addressing growing concerns about technical failures affecting the platform’s American users. The company attributes recent glitches—including posts displaying zero views and likes—to data center outages rather than manual algorithmic manipulation.

Data Center Failures Behind Technical Glitches

On January 27, 2026, TikTok US announced significant progress in recovering its infrastructure following an outage at one of its facilities. The company stated: “The U.S. user experience may still have some technical issues, including when posting new content. We’re committed to bringing TikTok back to its full capacity as soon as possible.” These system failures have also impacted the display of creator earnings across the platform.

Rising User Concerns About Content Restrictions

Despite TikTok’s explanation, high-profile users have raised alarm about potential content censorship. Some reported that posts about sensitive topics like ICE enforcement and Minneapolis produced zero engagement, while searches for terms like “Epstein” reportedly yielded no results for certain users. Critics speculate the Trump-aligned US team may be restricting algorithmic visibility of certain topics.

However, experts note that evidence remains largely anecdotal. The timing of these issues during the transition to new US management has fueled speculation, but no definitive proof of intentional censorship exists yet. TikTok faces a critical window to restore user confidence, as the technical problems and perception issues threaten to trigger an early exodus of American users during this pivotal transition period.