TikTok reports it is making progress on recovering its U.S. infrastructure after a data center outage. This disruption occurred shortly after the TikTok U.S. deal was finalized. Last week, TikTok announced the creation of a separate U.S. entity with American investors to avoid a nationwide ban.
Around the time of this transition, users began reporting widespread issues. Problems included malfunctioning searches, difficulties watching videos, errors when posting, trouble loading comments, and unexpected behavior with the For You algorithm and content.
On Monday, the company attributed these glitches to a power outage at a U.S. data center, which it said was also impacting other applications. A more recent update from the TikTok USDS Joint Venture’s account indicates the outages are not yet fully resolved.
The update states that significant progress has been made in recovering the U.S. infrastructure with its data center partner. However, U.S. users may still experience technical issues, particularly when posting new content. The company committed to restoring TikTok to full capacity as soon as possible and promised continued updates.
The company has not named the specific data center partner involved. The outage coincided with a large winter storm that affected millions of Americans across the country.
The timing of the glitches has led some users to question TikTok’s explanation, as the disruption also occurred as civil unrest began escalating following the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti by ICE agents.
In a prior post, TikTok noted that U.S. users might experience multiple bugs, slower load times, or timed-out requests. Creators may also see zero views or likes on their posts, or find their earnings seemingly missing, all due to server timeouts. The company advised users that their actual data and engagement are safe.