washington
\nUS TikTok users who once saw the app as a haven for free speech say they see signs of censorship after the platform, which is owned by China\u2019s ByteDance, was revived by an executive order from President Donald Trump. TikTok users are noting a difference in the short-video app following its revival after going dark on Saturday under a new law \u2014 enacted over national security concerns during the Biden administration with bipartisan support \u2014 that requires it to be sold to a US buyer. Trump has vowed to find a solution to the ban, with several bidders in the mix, including people with close relationships to the new Republican president.
\nUsers say they are seeing fewer livestreams, and some activity is being removed or flagged at higher rates for violating community guidelines, including for behavior that was previously permitted.
\n\u201cWhile we\u2019re restoring our services in the US, some TikTok features may be temporarily unstable or unavailable. We\u2019re working hard to resolve this issue,\u201d TikTok told US users in a message in the app on Tuesday.
\nTikTok did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
\nBut some users said they now see more content moderation, like limited search results, as well as warnings about misinformation and prompts for users to check their sources. Some claimed TikTok was striking comments that used phrases like \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and \u201cFree Luigi,\u201d a reference to Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing a UnitedHealth executive, which had been previously allowed.
\nOn Monday, Trump signed an executive order that he said aims to restore freedom of speech and end censorship, referring specifically to social media platforms.
\nContent creator, comedian and veteran Pat Loller, 36, said a satirical video he created in response to billionaire Elon Musk\u2019s hand gesture at an inauguration event that appeared to some as a Nazi salute was first tagged as misinformation. Loller was then limited in how widely he could share the video, which garnered over a million views.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve never seen this before, and it is still there. It says \u2018sharing is limited to one chat at a time,\u2019\u201d said Loller, who has 1.3 million followers.
\nTrump on Tuesday said that he was open to Musk, who is a close ally of the president and helping oversee his new initiative on government efficiency, buying TikTok, if he wanted to do so.
\nTikTok user Lisa Cline said on Meta\u2019s Threads that she was having issues posting a video to TikTok criticizing Trump.
\n\u201cI tried to post this six times to TikTok and it wouldn\u2019t let me because of censorship, here\u2019s (to) hoping it works here,\u201d Cline said. The video referenced Trump\u2019s response to Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde after she asked him, at an inaugural prayer service at Washington\u2019s National Cathedral, to show mercy on people who are \u201cscared.\u201d
\nDanisha Carter, 27, said her account, which has 2 million followers, was permanently suspended shortly after TikTok went dark on Saturday. She was told it was due to \u201cmultiple policy violations\u201d when she tried to log in after the ban was lifted.
\n\u201cThis has been very politically targeted,\u201d said Carter, a political and social commentator, who said TikTok won\u2019t explain its decision, which it said was final. Her final livestream called out wealthy tech executives for their influence over the American presidential campaign and U.S. businesses.
\nOthers say they are getting flagged for comments unrelated to politics, sparking concerns that users are being targeted based on other criteria as well as including identity or previous content.
\nAda \u201cMila\u201d Ortiz, a data analyst and content creator, said she received strikes after leaving innocuous comments on other videos, with a warning that another violation would prevent her from accessing some features.
\n\u201cIt was just so sudden and so random I thought they are trying to get me out of here,\u201d she said. Ortiz has since deleted about 15 videos that were pro-Vice President Kamala Harris and anti-Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
washington US TikTok users who once saw the app as a haven for free speech say they see signs of censorship after the platform, which is owned by China\u2019s ByteDance, was revived by an executive order from President Donald Trump. TikTok users are noting a difference in the short-video app following its revival after going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-457646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n