TikTok investigating why some users can't write "Epstein" in messages
3 months ago
- #Censorship
- #TikTok
- #Social Media
- TikTok is investigating why some users can't send the word 'Epstein' in direct messages, despite no rules against it.
- The issue gained attention on social media, prompting California Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce an inquiry.
- The problem arose shortly after TikTok's U.S. operations were sold to a consortium of mostly American investors, including Oracle, led by Larry Ellison, a Trump ally.
- Users speculated about censorship under new ownership, using the hashtag #TikTokCensorship, though TikTok denies any changes to content moderation rules.
- Technical issues, including message blocking inconsistencies and app malfunctions, have been widespread since the ownership change.
- TikTok attributed service disruptions to a data center outage and confirmed ongoing technical challenges.
- New privacy terms under the current ownership now allow TikTok to collect precise location data, similar to other social media platforms.