Do you watch tiktok? Have you recently noticed a shift in content? As of January 22, 2026, Oracle has taken ownership of the app TikTok. A company run by the U.S. has now led many to speculate the level of censorship that’s coming our way. Many individuals have since expressed concerns that there could be more surveillance and possibly silencing voices on the platform. For posts spreading awareness on ICE, political protests, or even mentioning the Epstein files, many have reported their videos being frozen or not playing smoothly. To add on, many individuals point out the fact that their search bar contains irregular messages regarding the government parties, something that they never searched up. Many content creators have even gone as far as saying that they’re wanting to leave the app.
How did this start? Ever since 2024, there was a law passed that stated TikTok needed to be separated from its Chinese-based parent company, or it would be blocked. There were many concerns around data sharing between China and America, and unwanted access by the Chinese government. This was also the root cause for the TikTok shutdown that happened that year as well, lasting not even a day. After two years, it has finally passed. Even though the parent company still owns around 20%, the rest of the company has been given to the United States, one prominent company in which is Oracle.
In a follow up with CBC News, Tiktok has claimed that their policy for sharing content hasn’t been altered, and they debunked posts that criticized them for blocking out political names and opinions. Instead, they’ve claimed that it has been due to a power outage in one of their servers. They have continued to deny allegations thrown at them then. According to a marketing intelligence firm, U.S based users deleting the app have increased 190% in the past week. This is impart due to the new terms and conditions, which track more information such as geolocation and immigration status, which have understandably caused many users to distrust the platform, especially in a political state l
In an interview with a student at Bard, they state how they “had no knowledge of the new ownership of TikTok, but did experience many pausing and frozen videos on [her] feed.”
Similarly, another student says, “I was very confused opening TikTok today. I recall a new terms of service tab occupying my screen, but I quickly pressed the only button, agree, before continuing my scroll. I also feel weird because I believe my content was shifted slightly; it’s not what I usually see on my feed.”
To many users on this platform, the ownership transfer may feel indifferent and distant. Many problems have risen regarding data and privacy safety, and numerous creators have spoken upon it. But whether or not this new ownership creates stability or promotes chaos is dependent on TikTok’s future, and just how different things may become.
