The Tamesis
Just days after newly formed TikTok US reached a deal with its Chinese owners, its U.S. users quickly deleted the app, with many expressing concerns about censorship, privacy and changes to its algorithm.
In the past five days, the average daily number of U.S. users who have uninstalled TikTok has increased by nearly 150% compared with the past three months. CNBC reports Citing data from market intelligence company Sensor Tower.
CNBC reports that many users are concerned about the wording of the app’s updated privacy policy, which says TikTok will collect data such as “your racial or ethnic origin” as well as “your sex life or sexual orientation, transgender or non-binary status, citizenship or immigration status, or financial information.”
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However, this claim is not new, CNBC reported, adding that similar policies already existed as early as 2024.
But behind the app’s growing skepticism among U.S. users lies a series of problems that have almost come to a head at TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance Agreement reached last week Establishing a U.S. majority-owned joint venture.
The agreement stipulates that U.S. and global investors hold 80.1% of the joint venture, with ByteDance’s shareholding reduced to 19.9%.
The move follows years of concerns among China hawks about Beijing’s access to data on the app’s 200 million U.S. users. TikTok has previously denied that Beijing had access to the data.
censorship concerns
However, after the handover, users began to suspect that the app was under heavy scrutiny. Some users stated that they No more videos can be uploaded Criticizes raids by anti-immigration ICE agents in the United States. Users said their videos simply couldn’t be uploaded to the app, especially on weekends when there was an uproar over activity involving ICE. An American nurse was killed.
Some other users said they cannot write The word “Epstein” in the private messages sent via TikTok refers to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier convicted of human trafficking and other serious crimes. Documents involving Epstein’s clients have been a key source of tension in the United States, amid concerns and accusations that they could link Epstein to President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, technology platform The Verge Debunking claims of censorship linked to Epstein TikTok said it was able to send messages mentioning his name. The platform also noted that it experienced some glitches when sending messages through the platform, adding that the glitches were actually related to TikTok’s outage in the United States.
TikTok US also said in a statement over the weekend that it would not censor posts and that user issues were related to a massive data center outage that knocked out the app. On Monday night, TikTok US issued a statement on
An update on our efforts to restore and stabilize TikTok. pic.twitter.com/PZzsuFeZmj
— TikTok USDS Joint Venture (@tiktokusdsjv) January 26, 2026
Meanwhile, other users took to social media to say their decision to remove the app was simply the result of an algorithm change. “It’s like YouTube clips. Random people talking about sports, winter storms, McDonald’s hacks. It used to be niche art, philosophy, avant-garde music, clothing, movie recommendations, books,” one user wrote on Reddit.
“It’s crazy how obvious the shift has been.”
Promote investigation
While the issues currently affecting TikTok are diverse, the timing — especially just days after the U.S. takeover — raises huge suspicions about the app’s new owners.
Users expressed concern about having their data collected by a buyer close to the Trump administration, while others said they did not believe a technology disruption could cause such a disruption.
On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom also accused TikTok of suppressing content critical of Trump. Newsom said he is launching a review to determine whether its content moderation practices violate state law.
It’s time to investigate.
I am launching a review into whether TikTok violates state law by censoring content critical of Trump. https://t.co/AZ2mWW68xa
— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) January 27, 2026
“Following the sale of TikTok to a Trump-aligned business group, our office received reports and independently confirmed instances of the suppression of President Trump’s content,” Newsom’s office said on X, without elaborating.
“Gavin Newsom is launching a review of this conduct and is calling on the California Department of Justice to determine whether it violated California law,” the statement added.
in response ReutersA TikTok representative pointed to a previous statement that blamed a data center outage, adding, “It would be inaccurate to report that this was not a technical issue that we have transparently confirmed.”
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