TikTok blocks Epstein and anti-Trump videos under Trump-aligned ownership

American TikTok users are reporting that the platform is blocking the word “Epstein” and hiding videos critical of US President Donald Trump following the takeover by new Trump-aligned owners.

Since Sunday, numerous US users say their posts, especially those criticizing Trump or highlighting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Minneapolis and the protests that followed have been stuck at zero views or failed to publish altogether.

Users also note that simply typing the name “Epstein” prompts warnings that the term violates TikTok’s “Community Guidelines,” effectively shutting down discussion of the convicted sex offender, who once maintained close ties with Trump.

These restrictions came just days after TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, was forced to sell a majority stake in his US business to investors with strong ties to Trump.

The new ownership structure makes TikTok majority American-owned, with Oracle, an American company, holding a 15 percent stake, alongside MGX, an investment firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Silver Lake, an American private equity group. ByteDance remains involved but now holds only a 19.9 percent minority share.

Larry Ellison, the billionaire Republican donor who leads Oracle and counts Trump as an ally, will be a central figure in the platform’s US operation.

New Epstein files lay bare Trump's 'love for young girls,' links to sex offender's death

The US Department of Justice releases tens of thousands of additional documents related to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The controversy surrounding Epstein continues to loom. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein moved in the same social circles from the late 1980s through the early 2000s, attending Mar‑a‑Lago events together and appearing in photographs and flight logs.

In a 2002 interview Trump described Epstein as a “terrific guy” and someone who “likes beautiful women … on the younger side.”

Despite Trump’s repeated efforts to distance himself from Epstein following the financier’s conviction for sex offenses, recently released Department of Justice (DOJ) documents show Trump’s name in flight logs and other records from the 1990s.

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he will investigate whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring content critical of Trump.

“It is time to investigate,” he wrote on social media platform X on Monday, adding “I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump‑critical content.”

Senator Scott Wiener, a California Democrat, said one of his TikTok videos about how to sue ICE has also been suppressed.

“TikTok is now state‑controlled media … This morning I posted a TikTok about my legislation allowing people to sue ICE agents. It is sitting at zero views, and I am not the only person this is happening to,” Wiener wrote on X on Monday.

Oracle spokesperson declined to answer questions about the blocks on “Epstein” or ICE content.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir