Rumors that TikTok had begun censoring the word "Epstein" in direct messages spread quickly over the weekend. However, the claims appeared to be false and tied instead to a broader technical failure affecting TikTok’s U.S. service as it changed ownership this past week. As users tested the app during widespread outages, isolated glitches were misread as deliberate moderation shifts.
It isn't stopping the California Governor from launching an official investigation.
How the 'Epstein' censorship theory fell apart
Shortly after TikTok’s U.S. separation from ByteDance, users noticed strange messaging behavior. Some reported that sending the single word "Epstein" caused messages to fail.
Screenshots and video recordings circulated widely, and speculation followed about political or reputation-based censorship.
However, at the same time, TikTok was struggling to function normally across multiple features, such as showing the number of likes and views on videos as zero, and uploading issues.
Testing cited by The Verge complicated the narrative. According to reporter Richard Lawler, TikTok’s DM system blocked many single-word messages, including harmless ones like "test." In contrast, sentences containing the same words went through without issue. Because of that, the evidence pointed toward a system-wide bug rather than a targeted content filter.
Lawler wrote that the platform remained “largely down" due to a data center power outage. This had been reported by the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture X account.
On Monday morning, the account tweeted, "Since yesterday, we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate. We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon."
Hours later, they posted an update about the "major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage."
![A tweet from the TikTok USDS Joint Venture that says, "An update on our work to restore and stabilize TikTok." with a text-based image explaining that they are "continuing to resolve a major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage at one of [their] U.S. data center partner sites." It explained that seeing zero views or likes on videos is part of the outage.](https://lede-admin.dailydot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2026/01/tiktok-data-centers-down-glitch-censorship-2.png?w=710)
Other notable changes and growing unease around TikTok
Posts from high-profile users and even public officials, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, suggested intentional suppression given the timing of the issues with TikTok in the midst of unrest over ICE's actions in Minnesota. Since TikTok’s messaging feature malfunctioned broadly, any conclusions drawn from partial tests proved unreliable.
Despite reassurances, frustration continued. Many TikTokers argued that videos were still being suppressed as of Monday, Jan 26. Uploads remained stuck “under review,” while accounts based outside the U.S. saw their posts publish normally. Because of this uneven experience, suspicion lingered.
The timing intensified concerns. TikTok’s U.S. branch just shifted ownership to an investment consortium tied to Oracle, Paramount+, and CBS. Alongside that change, the company rolled out updated terms of service that expanded data collection and placed U.S. content moderation under new control.
Given those shifts, fears of censorship already existed. Newsom said he was investigating verified reports that TikTok limited Trump-critical content.
Activists and creators responded by leaving, such as Jamira Burley, who called TikTok a "trap door" and said she no longer felt her work or safety was protected. "When tech giants, wealthy investors, and political pressure start making the rules," she wrote, "you already know whose voices are silenced first."
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