US TikTok Users Rethink App

Many TikTok users across the US are rethinking their relationship with the platform since its ownership and terms and conditions have recently changed, with some citing censorship and lack of trust as reasons why they’re removing themselves from the app. 

TikTok, the short-form video platform owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has faced scrutiny after the decision to create a new US-based entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture, in an effort to avoid being banned in the country. Investors in the majority US-owned venture include Oracle, which is owned by Donald Trump ally Larry Ellison, the private equity-group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, who will own 80.1% of the new entity. ByteDance will own the remaining 19.9%. 

The announcement was made five years after Trump first threatened to ban the popular app in the US during his first term in office. TikTok’s new deal has been accompanied by changes to app’s terms and conditions, reports of technical issues and a growing debate among users and creators about privacy and censorship. 

The daily average of US users deleting the TikTok app has increased 195% from January 22 to January 28 compared to the previous 90 days, according to data collected by Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm. 

Very many social media users have voiced concern over language in the app’s terms and conditions, which specifically point out the types of data that TikTok may collect on its users, including “racial and ethnic origin” and “sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status, or financial information”. 

That language was present in the previous version of platform’s terms, which were updated in 2024, but one noticeable new feature in the terms is the explicit acknowledgment that TikTok collects precise location data (unless you opt out), as reported by Mashable. 

After the killing of Alex Pretti – the second fatal shooting in January – in Minneapolis, Minnesota, amid a major crackdown by ICE agents on January 24, some content creators expressed concern that videos condemning the federal agency were being suppressed by TikTok. 

Even California governor Gavin Newsom voiced concern about potential TikTok censorship this past week, writing on X: “Following TikTok’s sale to a Trump-aligned business group, our office has received reports, and independently confirmed instances, of suppressed content critical of President Trump”. Newsom announced that the state will be launching an investigation into the platform and whether it is violating California law by censoring anti-Trump content.

If anybody decides to ditch TikTok, it's not the end of the world because there are other short-video social media apps worth checking out: Upscrolled, Skylight, Loops, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat Spotlight, Lemon8 and of course, Xiaohongshu/RedNote.