Donald Trump is again in the firing line, and although he once had a troubled relationship with TikTok, the President of the United States now seems to be down with the kids on the short-form video platform.
It seems like only yesterday that Donald Trump was accusing TikTok of being China's very own covert spy, which famously led to a (brief) ban and devices that had it installed going for ridiculous sums.
Trump first proposed a TikTok ban back in 2020, signing an executive order to try to get ByteDance to diversify, as he referred to it as a potential national security risk. That was undone by the Biden administration, before Trump's second term saw him put the platform in his sights once again.
TikTok seemed to have something of a charmed life after a series of extensions saved it, but once again, it's back in the news amid a swarm of controversy.
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As reported by POLITICO, TikTok is being accused of censoring interest surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, with mentions of 'Epstein' supposedly being blocked on the app.
The Trump administration has faced continued questions about its handling of the Epstein files, as well as the president's known links to the shamed financier, convicted human trafficker, and child sex offender.
This has landed on the radar of California's Gavin Newsom, who's previously had very public beef with the POTUS.
The Democratic frontrunner recently spoke out on Trump's proposed takeover of Greenland, saying: "Trump is a T-Rex. You mate with him or he devours you, one or the other, and you need to stand up to it."
Turning to a very different issue, Newsom has said, "It’s time to investigate," over allegations that Trump has intervened with the Epstein situation on TikTok.
Newsom's office told POLITICO that when trying to mention Epstein via direct message, it was given a warning that it couldn't be sent because it "may violate community guidelines."
Taking things one step further, Newsom's office took to X to claim the current administration is suppressing "content critical of President Trump."
The timing comes just after the sale of TikTok's American arm to investors that include Trump ally Larry Ellison's Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX.
As a new enterprise, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC posted on X, saying that bugs had caused a 'major infrastructure issue' that led to a power outage at one of its US data centers.
In a statement, California Department of Justice spokesperson Elissa Perez reiterated that state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office is "unable to comment on, even to confirm or deny, any potential or ongoing investigations." That same statement said that free speech rights are "a cornerstone of our democracy."
Since the Oracle deal was finalized, there have been growing reports that content, especially surrounding the ICE shooting of Alex Pretti and following protests, has been 'stifled'.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener maintains that his own video criticizing ICE, while mentioning Pretti's shooting in Minneapolis, got zero views.
TikTok referred to the power outage, although Wiener defiantly said: "Clearly, TikTok is suppressing criticisms of ICE."
Looping back to the TikTok deal, he concluded: "Trump wants to control everything...This is a kleptocracy."
As unverified reports of interference continue, American and global investors will now hold 80.1% of TikTok in the USA, while ByteDance retains 19.9%.