Is Trump’s new TikTok censoring users?
If you've opened TikTok recently, some strange things have probably happened to you. Maybe you couldn't post a new video. The app may have asked for your exact location. Maybe you haven't seen as much about ICE or the Trump administration's latest attack on the global world order. If the latter, you weren't the only ones.
When it comes to TikTok, the last week has been full of changes, challenges and conspiracy theories. It was the first week of operations for the new company operating TikTok in the United States: the TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLCa name that really sits on the tip of your tongue. I like to call it TikTok USA so it doesn't sound too much like a military operation, but some simply refer to the new company as TikTok's MAGA makeover.
There are a few reasons to suspect this. Many of the new company's investors, including Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, have close ties to the Trump administration. President Donald Trump even took credit for “saving TikTok.” by brokering the deal that prevented the app from being banned in the US on national security grounds. And in recent days, users have reported strange activity that appears to be entirely in line with Trump's agenda: direct messages mentioning Epstein will not be sentVideos critical of ICE will not be uploadedAnti-Trump TikToks are suppressed. Oracle spokesman Michael Egbert said Tuesday that “a temporary weather-related power outage” affected TikTok and resulted in “technical issues.”
However, what is likely to be more important than an outage and associated disruptions is how the TikTok USA experience will differ from the classic TikTok experience. Even before the censorship complaints began, the company rolled out an updated privacy policy collects even more data about its users. This includes precise location, details of users' AI interactions, and personal information shared with a broader advertising network. The new privacy policy also states that TikTok USA may collect data about “immigration status,” but in that language was actually in the old data protection declaration to comply with some state laws.
Then there is the question of the algorithm. TikTok is what it is because its powerful algorithm continues to delight and surprise hundreds of millions of users with content either incredibly specific or just convincing. When the Trump administration announced the terms of the agreement to spin off TikTok USA last year, there were many questions about who would own and control the algorithm for the American app. The same goes for content moderation and trust and security policies.
We now know that TikTok USA will control all of these levers. ByteDance, which retains a 19.9 percent stake in TikTok USA, will license the content recommendation algorithm to the new American company, which will host the algorithm and all US user data on Oracle servers. Oracle, MGX and private equity firm Silver Lake will be the three managing investors in the new company and will each have a seat on the board. Other investors include firms associated with everyone from Michael Dell to former AOL chairman Steve Case to early Facebook investor Yuri Milner. Adam Presser, TikTok's former head of operations and trust and security, is CEO of the new company. It was Presser too previously Chief of Staff to TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who also sits on the board of TikTok USA.
We don't yet know what the leadership of this new company will do. It's not at all clear that this group of men running the company – yes, the board is all men – is actually a cabal of pro-Trump activists who want to make the platform the new mouthpiece for MAGA.
Some have stronger ties to Trump than others. Kenneth Glueck, an Oracle lobbyist and one of Larry Ellison's deputies, played a key role in securing the Trump-backed deal and was a member of the transition team for Trump's first administration after I donated money for it. Jeff Yass, founder of Susquehanna International Group, which owns 15 percent of ByteDance, is possibly the guy who persuaded Trump to do a TikTok deal a few years ago, but he's not on the board. Susquehanna CEO Mark Dooley is. Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban also helped broker the TikTok deal, and he worked closely with Jared KushnerTrump's son-in-law to involve Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in a deal to acquire Electronic Arts. (Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is apparently a big player.)
Knowing all this, do you want to delete your TikTok account? Apparently there are already a lot of people. Daily uninstalls growth by 130 percent in the first four days of ownership of TikTok USA compared to the previous 30 days. Smaller social media platforms would be happy to have you. UpScrolled, a self-billing app as a TikTok alternativeis currently the second largest provider in Apple's App Store after ChatGPT.
It's unclear whether the “glitches” from earlier this week will persist, or whether the algorithm will suddenly serve more MAGA-adjacent content, push more crypto schemes, or simply show you more AI vulnerabilities. Something like that has happened before as social media platforms changed hands.
The most obvious explanation for what is happening at TikTok USA is that the formerly Chinese platform is becoming an American one. The updates to its privacy policies more or less mirror what companies like Meta and Google have been doing for years with their American users: collecting as much data as possible and making as much money as possible. On the board of TikTok USA, some are probably pro-Trump people, but in Silicon Valley is full of it these days. Look no further than Billionaire dispute at Trump's second inauguration as evidence that the tech industry cares most about access to electricity.
If all this bothers you, delete the app. Even if it doesn't bother you, consider wasting your attention elsewhere. TikTok was never very good for you.
A version of this story was also published in the User Friendly newsletter. Register here So you don't miss the next one!
