TikTok users across the country spent the weekend battling app malfunctions that the company now attributes to a power outage at a U.S. data center. The glitches, which included problems loading comments and erratic For You page behavior, hit just days after the formation of the separate TikTok USDS Joint Venture and during widespread protests in Minneapolis. While the company insists the timing is coincidental, the convergence of infrastructure issues, ownership changes, and political unrest has sparked user concerns about potential government censorship on the platform.
TikTok found itself in damage control mode this weekend after widespread app malfunctions left millions of users struggling to load comments, search for content, and navigate their For You pages. The company's explanation? A power outage at a U.S. data center that couldn't have come at a worse time.
"Since yesterday we've been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate," the TikTok USDS Joint Venture stated on X. "We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon."
The technical explanation sounds straightforward enough, especially considering that over one million Americans lost power during massive weekend snowstorms. But the timing has users asking uncomfortable questions. The glitches emerged just days after the formal establishment of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, the government-mandated restructuring that stripped ByteDance of majority control over TikTok's U.S. operations.
Under the new ownership structure, ByteDance now holds less than 20% of the joint venture, while managing investors Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each control 15%. The U.S. government pushed for this split over national security concerns about potential Chinese government access to American user data through ByteDance.
According to , the outage rippled across the entire country, hitting users from coast to coast. For some, the problems persist days later, creating an extended period of service disruption that's unusual for a platform that typically prides itself on reliability.
