California governor calls for an investigation into TikTok's censorship

TikTok users reported on Tuesday that the platform had banned all messages containing the word “Epstein.” The new restrictions come after America’s 2nd richest man, Larry Ellison, completed the purchase of the short-form video platform on January 22, 2026.

Users have reportedly experienced outages and other functionality issues since Oracle, which is run by Ellison, purchased the app from ByteDance last week. The Chinese firm said TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will leverage data privacy and cybersecurity measures to secure U.S. data, apps, and algorithms.

California governor calls for an investigation into TikTok’s censorship

🇺🇸 TikTok allegedly just banned the word "Epstein" in DMs days after finalizing its sale to GOP-backed investors.

Now Newsom wants to investigate them for censoring “Trump-critical content.”

Source: @CAgovernor, @intelligentpawg pic.twitter.com/Gake8gm8QB

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 27, 2026

However, the platform’s officials revealed on Monday that they are investigating why many users are unable to send the word “Epstein” in direct messages. Users have reported that posts are being taken down, shadowbanned, or that searching or using the term triggers restrictions.

A spokesman for TikTok’s U.S. operations acknowledged that the platform doesn’t have rules against sharing the name Epstein in direct messages. He also confirmed that the firm is investigating why some users are experiencing issues on the platform.

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, stated that his office received reports and independently confirmed instances of suppressed content critical of President Trump. He also called for an immediate investigation into the ban, arguing that he is launching a review into whether TikTok is breaching state law by censoring content tied to Trump.

“It’s time to investigate. I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content.”

–Gavin Newsom, Governor of California.

The governor believes that TikTok is censoring content tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which has plagued the Trump administration for months. Newsom said he is launching a review of TikTok’s content censorship, and also called on the California Department of Justice to determine whether the censorship violates California law. 

The video-sharing application acknowledged that none of its content moderation rules have changed. However, some users reported that an automatic prompt appeared after attempting to send direct messages containing the word Epstein. 

The prompt alleged that the message may violate TikTok’s community guidelines. TikTok also stated in the prompt that the censorship is intended to protect its community.

TikTok blames data center outages for service disruptions

The social media platform revealed that it has grappled with far-reaching technical issues since its acquisition by Ellison. The app acknowledged that thousands of users have reported it not working properly over the past two days. 

The platform received reports that some videos were receiving zero views, and the main video feed was not updating. Users also reported that some other basic functions in the app were lagging or not working at all.

TikTok argued that an outage at one of its data centers caused the interruptions on the platform and other affiliate apps. The firm stated on Monday that it has been working with its data center partners to bring service disruptions under control. DownDetector, which tracks outages based on crowdsourced reports, found that the disruptions made TikTok wobbly for many of its 200 million U.S. users.

TikTok USDS Joint Venture warned that users may notice multiple bugs, slower load times, or timed-out requests, including when posting new content. The app also said creators may temporarily see zero views or likes on their videos, and that their earnings may appear to be missing. The firm stated that the disruptions are a display error caused by server timeouts and that users’ actual data and engagement are still safe.

Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported on Tuesday that users are deleting the app at a higher rate since the firm’s acquisition. There has been a 150% surge in the daily average of U.S. users deleting the app in the past five days compared with the previous three months.

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