Summary
TikTok users reported that searches for anti-Trump content, such as “Donald Trump rigged election,” returned “No results found” messages in the U.S., while the same searches worked abroad.
Users demonstrated via VPNs that the restrictions seem specific to U.S. accounts, sparking accusations of censorship and claims TikTok is becoming “Trump’s propaganda arm.”
Some anti-Trump hashtags also appear blocked, while pro-Trump terms remain visible.
TikTok has not commented on the issue, fueling further concerns about free speech and potential political influence over the platform.
If a full Apple modal dialog screen thanking Trump pre-emptively isn’t enough to convince you TikTok is bootlicking, I don’t know what to tell you.
Something that occurred to me this morning is that its a bit worse than just them sucking up to Trump with that to get unbanned; to my understanding, he’s just stated he wont enforce the ban law, so if he was to change his mind, he wouldnt need congress to pass another I dont think? He’d just need to start enforcing the existing one. That means that TikTok has a strong incentive to continue sucking up to him throughout his whole term, to stay on his good side. But it goes further, because it also creates an incentive for other corporate social medias that compete with TikTok to do the same (though admittedly, their owners seem to want to anyway), in the hopes that they can convince him to enforce the ban again and remove some of their competition.
Yep, he’s got all the big social networks under his control now, basically. Tie that to the cowardice of the mainstream media, and he’s got an opportunity to manufacture consent on pretty much anything he wants. And Democrats helped him do it because they didn’t want to be criticised over Gaza on tiktok.
You just described 1930s Germany and the aggregation of Hitler’s power.
It can happen anywhere. And now it’s happening here.
Yep, totally agree.
Someone should sue the administration for not enforcing the law. I’m not a lawyer but that’s a thing, isn’t it?
Not anymore.
TikTok is not bootlicking. They’re manipulating him.
That’s not how you spell “kowtowing”
TikTok is allegedly collecting data on Americans that Congress has collectively deemed a security threat. That being a main objective, giving Trump a few things in return (promoting him in the app dialog, censorship in his favor) is so that they can continue to do what they do.
Trump is easily manipulated by strongmen like Putin and Xi.
Manipulation, to me, implies either a lack of awareness or agency.
Trump knows exactly what’s going on. He has agency. This is not Xi manipulating Trump, this is Trump’s cognizant, free choice. He chose to ignore congress, ignore law and allow TikTok because it’s pro Trump, it’s that simple.
I’m sure the Chinese govt approves of all this and TikTok has an interest in staying alive, but no one is tricking Trump into this. He is doing this.
That’s a fair point. I guess I think of kowtowing like Tim Cook, who is really anything but MAGA, donating to the inauguration fund.
He is definitely for sale so your assertion would not surprise me in the least.
Why do you think that it is the other way around though?
He tries to project strength even though he has none.
LO-fucking L
Lol. I imagined clown nose honking sounds as I read your comment.