TikTok attributes recent glitches to a power outage at a U.S. data center

TikTok experienced widespread glitches across the U.S. coinciding with severe snowstorms, causing issues such as problems loading comments and erratic behavior of the For You page algorithm. These disruptions began shortly after the formal establishment of TikTok USDS, a new U.S.-based joint venture created in response to government concerns about data privacy and Chinese ownership. TikTok USDS, which includes investors Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, attributed the outages to a power outage at a U.S. data center affecting multiple apps, and they have been working with their data center partner to restore services. Despite this explanation, some users remain suspicious due to the timing of the outages and ongoing political events, including protests in Minneapolis following a controversial civilian killing. The app’s malfunctions also sparked fears of potential government censorship, especially as users reported difficulties searching for information related to the Minneapolis protests. Additionally, TikTok’s updated privacy policy, which explicitly mentions data collection on sensitive personal information such as sexual orientation and immigration