The moment a new American-majority joint venture took control of TikTok’s US operations, the platform descended into chaos, with many users reporting they cannot upload videos that mention federal immigration activity or ICE, as reported by CNN. The timing has immediately fueled widespread fears of political censorship surrounding the platform’s new management.
Comedian Megan Stalter, who boasts hundreds of thousands of followers, was one of the first creators to run into issues. Stalter tried sharing a serious video over the weekend after the death of nurse Alex Pretti, who was shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis. Stalter had recorded herself urging her fellow Christians to speak out against ICE raids. “We have to abolish ICE,” Stalter said in the video. “I truly, truly believe that is exactly what Jesus would do.”
While that same plea was reposted over 12,000 times on Instagram, it never made it to TikTok. After attempting to upload the video several times with no success, Stalter gave up and deleted her entire TikTok account, believing her content was being blocked because it focused on ICE. Other users reported the same exact combination of events, drawing a circumstantial connection between their efforts to create videos about ICE and the sudden difficulties they had posting them.
TikTok, however, is pushing back hard against any claims of intentional censorship
Nurse and author Jen Hamilton, who commands an audience of over 4.5 million followers, also became suspicious on the day the change in control was announced. A video she made about a 5-year-old being taken by federal agents simply wouldn’t upload. “It was very ironic for that very first day of this takeover, for me to post something about ICE and then it not be viewable to the public,” Hamilton stated, noting that the video still can’t be seen by her followers.
A spokesperson for the TikTok US Joint Venture stated that the glitches were due to a power outage at a US data center. They said the technical issues were “unrelated to last week’s news” and that the outage was causing videos to take much longer to upload and be recommended to other users. The joint venture reported on Tuesday morning that they had made “significant progress” in restoring service, though users may still encounter upload troubles.
Last week, a majority American-owned joint venture finalized the deal to take control of TikTok’s US assets. This move was shepherded by the Trump administration under a 2024 law that required the app to move out from under its previous Chinese ownership or face a complete ban in the United States. Among the new investors is the tech company Oracle, whose executive chair, Larry Ellison, is a close affiliate of President Trump.
Many users, like Stalter, are already leaving the app, with market data showing that the daily average of TikTok uninstalls is up nearly 150% in the last five days compared to the previous three months. However, some users are finding creative ways to fight back.
Hamilton, the nurse, suspects the goal is to dissuade people from sharing narratives that are critical of the government. She’s already figured out a way to continue the conversation. In a video that did make it through, she called herself a “fashion influencer” and spoke in coded language about her trouble uploading an earlier video.
“Fashion influencing is in my blood,” she said in the video, with a photo of the child Liam Conejo Ramos behind her. “And even a company with bad customer service won’t keep me from doing my fashion review.”
Published: Jan 28, 2026 01:30 pm