TikTok last week completed a deal to hand over its operations in the United States to a majority American company, but things haven't been going smoothly for the new American company so far.
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Over the weekend, some TikTok users in the US were unable to upload videos, which TikTok attributed to a power outage at a US data center. TikTok users found they were unable to upload videos about Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the shooting incident in Minneapolis on Saturday, raising concerns about censorship. Users saw their videos go through a review process or receive fewer views than expected.
Some users received messages that their posts about the shooting incident had been marked as “Not Eligible for Recommendation,” while others were temporarily suspended.
TikTok said it is still working to resolve the infrastructure issue, which apparently caused a “catastrophic systems failure” leading to a long list of errors. TikTok users may see slower loading times, timed requests, and 0 views or likes on videos.
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The ongoing outage and accompanying censorship concerns have caused some TikTok users to abandon the platform for UpScrolled, an alternative social video platform. UpScrolled is currently the eighth most-downloaded free app in the US App Store, but was in second place yesterday.
Users have also raised concerns about an updated TikTok privacy policy that suggests it collects “citizenship or immigration status” along with precise user location information, but TikTok’s previous privacy policy also included this wording.
The new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is 80.1% owned by U.S. and international investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX . The three companies each hold 15% as managing investors, and other U.S. shareholders include the Dell Family Office and affiliates of Susquehanna International Group. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, continues to hold a 19.9% stake .
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A seven-member board of directors with a majority of Americans runs the US version of TikTok, with Adam Presser, TikTok's former global chief operating officer, serving as CEO.
