As snowstorms swept across the United States on Sunday, TikTok users reported widespread issues with the app. Problems included difficulties loading comments and unexpected behavior from the For You page algorithm. For some, these technical problems continued to persist.
The timing of these outages coincided with the recent establishment of a separate U.S. TikTok entity. This move was mandated by the U.S. government due to concerns about the Chinese government potentially accessing user data through the app’s former parent company, ByteDance. Under the new structure, ByteDance now owns less than 20% of the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture, while managing investors Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each own 15%.
However, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture stated that these issues were caused by a power outage at a U.S. data center. The company explained they have been working to restore services following the outage, which impacted TikTok and other apps they operate. They apologized for the disruption and stated they are working with their data center partner to stabilize service.
According to user-reported data from Downdetector, the outage impacted users across the country. TikTok’s explanation is logical, given that over one million people in the U.S. experienced power outages after the massive storm. Nevertheless, some users are suspicious given how soon the outages occurred after the U.S. joint venture was formally established.
The outage also overlapped with ongoing protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where thousands of ICE agents have been deployed since early January in what officials called the largest immigration operation ever. On Saturday, border patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, marking the second killing of a civilian by ICE in Minneapolis this month.
Following the killing, some TikTok users reported trouble searching the app for information about the events in Minneapolis. These malfunctions led to panic about the possibility of government censorship, though TikTok attributes the issues to the concurrent data center outage.
Over the weekend, people also expressed concern about TikTok’s updated privacy policy. The new language allows TikTok to collect data about users, including their sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, and citizenship or immigration status. However, some of these disclosures are not new and had appeared in TikTok’s privacy policy prior to the ownership deal’s close, primarily to comply with California’s Consumer Privacy Act.
While the recent TikTok outages and privacy policy changes appear to be run-of-the-mill problems with unfortunate timing, Americans do have reason to be cautious about social media surveillance, especially in times of political unrest.