New TikTok’s turbulent week in the US

On January 22, TikTok said it had completed an agreement to establish a joint venture TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, in which the US holds the majority of shares. This is considered a “happy” ending after a long time of short video platforms struggling to survive in the US. However, the first days of operation were considered “not easy”.

One day after TikTok launched the joint venture, the owner changed a series of privacy policies to collect data more widely and quickly caused negative feedback from users. According to data from research company Sensor Tower, in the first 5 days, the number of TikTok users in the US who deleted the app increased nearly 150% compared to the previous three months.

On social networks such as

Theo Guardianthe negative reaction to the alliance may be due to users being suspicious of the new owner. For example, the joint venture includes Oracle, which is a sponsor of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Some questioned what the new platform planned to do with user data, and the policy adjustments further raised suspicions.

The wave of people leaving TikTok America helps competitors rise. In particular, Upscrolled with similar features but less censorship immediately rose to the top of the Apple App Store and third on the Google Play Store in terms of downloads over the weekend, while TikTok fell to 16th and 10th respectively, although before that it was rarely outside the top 10.

Two weekends immediately after ownership of TikTok was transferred, this social network also had system problems. The Fern snowstorm affected Oracle’s data centers and many people reported being unable to upload videos to TikTok, or the videos had no views despite having a significant number of followers.

In addition, after federal agents shot 10 times at American citizens, many people posted related videos on TikTok but had no views. A series of celebrities, including California senator Scott Weiner, musician Billie Eilish, and comedian Meg Stalter, accused TikTok of “strangling” this content. Large newspaper series such as New York Times, Variety, Independent, CNN, Washington Post then also simultaneously reported on these suspicions.

TikTok explained the problem occurred due to a snowstorm. Oracle also issued a similar statement.

On January 27, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state would investigate whether TikTok censored videos, including content critical of US President Donald Trump’s policies. This is considered a move to expand the scope of accusations that the application interfered with supporting Mr. Trump.

Experts say it’s too early to talk about the fate of TikTok America. However, the continued problems in the first week show that the app has damaged user trust, and that just another mistake could cause lasting damage to the platform.