Am I being censored? Some US TikTok users say app feels different after ban lifted

“Our policies and algorithms did not alteration implicit the weekend,” TikTok said successful a connection to Reuters. “We are moving hard to reconstruct our U.S. operations backmost to mean and expect immoderate impermanent instability arsenic we reconstruct our services, which could interaction TikTok features oregon users’ entree to the app.”

But immoderate users said they present spot much contented moderation, similar constricted hunt results, arsenic good arsenic warnings astir misinformation and prompts for users to cheque their sources. Some claimed TikTok was striking comments that utilized phrases similar “Free Palestine” and “Free Luigi,” a notation to Luigi Mangione, who is accused of sidesplitting a UnitedHealth executive, which had been antecedently allowed.

TikTok said it does not let contented that promotes convulsive oregon hateful individuals connected the platform. On Monday, Trump signed an enforcement bid that helium said aims to reconstruct state of code and extremity censorship, referring specifically to societal media platforms. Content creator, comedian and seasoned Pat Loller, 36, said a satirical video helium created successful effect to billionaire Elon Musk’s manus motion astatine an inauguration lawsuit that appeared to immoderate arsenic a Nazi salute was archetypal tagged arsenic misinformation. Loller was past constricted successful however wide helium could stock the video, which garnered implicit a cardinal views.

“I’ve ne'er seen this before, and it is inactive there. It says ‘sharing is constricted to 1 chat astatine a time,'” said Loller, who has 1.3 cardinal followers. Trump connected Tuesday said that helium was unfastened to Musk, who is simply a adjacent state of the president and helping oversee his caller inaugural connected authorities efficiency, buying TikTok, if helium wanted to bash so.

TikTok idiosyncratic Lisa Cline said connected Meta’s Threads that she was having issues posting a video to TikTok criticizing Trump. “I tried to station this six times to TikTok and it wouldn’t fto maine due to the fact that of censorship, here’s (to) hoping it works here,” Cline said. The video referenced Trump’s effect to Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde aft she asked him, astatine an inaugural supplication work astatine Washington’s National Cathedral, to amusement mercy connected radical who are “scared.”

Danisha Carter, 27, said her account, which has 2 cardinal followers, was permanently suspended soon aft TikTok went acheronian connected Saturday. She was told it was owed to “multiple argumentation violations” erstwhile she tried to log successful aft the prohibition was lifted.

“This has been precise politically targeted,” said Carter, a governmental and societal commentator, who said TikTok won’t explicate its decision, which it said was final. Her last livestream called retired affluent tech executives for their power implicit the American statesmanlike run and U.S. businesses.

Others accidental they are getting flagged for comments unrelated to politics, sparking concerns that users are being targeted based connected different criteria including individuality oregon erstwhile content.

Ada “Mila” Ortiz, a information expert and contented creator, said she received strikes aft leaving innocuous comments connected different videos, with a informing that different usurpation would forestall her from accessing immoderate features.

“It was conscionable truthful abrupt and truthful random I thought they are trying to get maine retired of here,” she said. Ortiz has since deleted astir 15 videos that were pro-Vice President Kamala Harris and anti-Trump.