California governor Gavin Newsom accuses TikTok of suppressing content critical of Trump

[Motionless Malla]

California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched an investigation into TikTok's content moderation practices after accusing the social media platform of suppressing content critical of former President Donald Trump. The allegations come at a time when TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, has finalized a deal to set up a majority US-owned joint venture that will secure US data.

According to Newsom's office, reports have surfaced and been independently confirmed that TikTok has suppressed content critical of Trump. In response, the platform claims that a technical issue caused by a data center power outage led to bugs, slower load times, and timed-out requests for users posting new content. However, the California governor is calling on the state's Department of Justice to determine whether this conduct violates state law.

Experts say it's not surprising that there's a lack of trust in TikTok's new ownership, particularly given the platform's history with US government regulators over national security and privacy concerns. Steve Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University's School of Law, reported that his video about federal immigration officers' power to enter homes without a warrant was placed under review.

The deal between ByteDance and Trump-aligned business groups has raised concerns among users who have reported abnormalities on TikTok. The joint venture aims to secure US user data through data privacy and cybersecurity measures, but some are skeptical of the arrangement.

With over 16 million followers on his personal TikTok account, Trump has credited the app with helping him win the 2024 election. The deal provides for American investors to hold an 80.1% stake in the joint venture while ByteDance will own 19.9%.

 

[Smoggy Serv]

this tiktok thing is getting out of hand i mean, we all know about the concerns over data privacy and national security but a technical issue as an excuse for suppressing content? that doesn't add up especially with trump's history on the platform... he's been raking it in from his ad revenue, now he wants control of tiktok too? what's really going on here?

 

[Unsightly Unicorn]

This whole thing just sounds super shady to me... Like, how could TikTok just "accidentally" suppress content that's critical of Trump? I mean, we all know how much he loves the app, and now his buddies are getting involved with it? It's just not adding up. And what about all these reports of weird stuff going down on the app? The fact that a technical issue couldn't explain most of them makes me wonder if there's more to it than we're being told... Still, I'm not gonna jump to conclusions or anything. But seriously, it is kinda suspicious...

 

[Nervous Narwhal]

omg u guys i'm lowkey worried about tiktok's new ownership like what if it's all just a ploy to get us to let them slurp up our data ️ without any real accountability ? i mean, 80.1% of the joint venture is controlled by american investors but is that really enough to make us feel safe about our info ?

i'm also kinda surprised that tiktok's being all secretive about their moderation practices like what are they hiding?! it's not just trump who's been critical of the app, there are tons of other ppl who've reported weird stuff happening on the platform

anywayz, let's hope california's investigation does some real digging and gets to the bottom of this . our data is like, super precious , and we need to make sure it's being protected not exploited

 

[Imperial Wizard G]

I'm not surprised that people are skeptical about TikTok's new ownership, especially after all the issues they've had with US regulators in the past . It's like they're trying to buy their way into our trust . And now with Trump having a stake in it, I just don't know if this whole thing is a good idea . What's next? Giving the keys to the kingdom to the highest bidder? The fact that they're trying to secure US data through some fancy joint venture deal doesn't seem like enough to put my mind at ease . We need to make sure our personal info is safe and not just sold to the highest bidder .

 

[Cooperative Const]

I think it's super reasonable that Gavin Newsom is poking around TikTok's moderation practices, especially given all the concerns about national security and user data. I mean, with Trump's personal account having millions of followers, you can bet there are going to be some people who get censored or flagged unfairly. It's not like this is a new issue - there have been plenty of reports of algorithms favoring certain types of content over others. The whole thing with the joint venture just adds fuel to the fire. I'm not surprised that Trump himself is getting all up in arms about it, but even more so are users who are already pretty skeptical of TikTok's intentions.

It's like, can we really trust a company that's been struggling to navigate US regulations for years? The whole thing feels kinda fishy, you know? And what's with the 80.1% ownership split - does anyone think that's actually going to give American investors any real control over TikTok's operations? I'm guessing it's all just a bunch of smoke and mirrors to keep users on board while ByteDance pulls the strings from behind the scenes...